


KAZUE

by MiyuKazu



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Women, Confident Sawada Tsunayoshi, Dysfunctional Family, Eventual Happy Ending, Family, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Flame shenanigans, I am SICK and TIRED of KHR Women DOING NOTHING, OC-SI, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), STRONG WOMEN EXIST, The Sawadas Are Bad Parents, Timeline Fixing, no reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2020-05-12 00:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19217965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyuKazu/pseuds/MiyuKazu
Summary: Every great Vongola boss also had an incredible external advisor, and Kazue swears that she will become the very best of them all. After all, she would do anything to protect her family.Or,In which Ietmitsu can't keep it in his pants, ends up with more children than he'd bargained for, and Tsuna ends up with an older sister who rules over the night sky.Crossposted on FF.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**  The Concept of Love

 **Disclaimer:**  I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

 **Note:** Not only am I running over canon with a truck, this story will also have some discrepancies from the manga, timeline wise. I noticed that Tsuna, despite being listed as 14 at the beginning of the Daily Life arc, actually has a few birthdays throughout the series. According to a few timelines I've found online, Tsuna should be 16 by the end of the Varia arc and throughout the future arc. By the Inheritance Ceremony Arc, all of the main characters should be highschoolers. Since Kazue is older than Tsuna by about a year, she and her squad should be graduating highschool soon after the Curse of the Rainbow arc.

* * *

It was a marriage of convenience— the Vongola branch's head, and the eldest daughter of Familia Cavallone. The marriage was a promise of allegiance; proof of a bond between the two families. The ceremony was beautiful. Nearly perfect, in fact. Guests attended, adorning an array of wonderful colors. Daniela, herself, wore a beautiful purple gown, contrary to Italy's catholic traditions. Her partner looked just as sharp in his nearly entirely black ensemble, save for the orange tie hung snugly around his neck. Everything went according to plan from the reception, to the after-party, to even the honeymoon.

Well,  _almost_  everything.

There was one jarring flaw that stood out, despite the grand wedding and the expensive vacation:

Daniela did not love Iemitsu.

And Iemitsu did not love Daniela.

But they came to an understanding. She knew of his cute little girlfriend back in Japan. What was her name again? Right, Nana. Adorable Nana who had large brown eyes and baby-smooth skin. Daniela pitied her. Why Iemitsu, a 24-year-old man, had been courting a freshly 18-year-old girl (never mind the fact that Daniela was only a 19-year-old, herself) flew right over her head, but that didn't matter. Daniela had trouble comprehending nearly all subjects pertaining to romance.

"Iemitsu," she started, before rolling over to her opposite side. She pushed herself up with her left elbow and combed through her long, silky pink tresses with the fingers of her right hand. The hair fell from her fingers, only to frame her face once more.

" _Iemitsu_ , I know you're awake." She placed a hand on his bare chest and shook him once.

He rolled over to face her. Slowly. Languidly. Before opening his eyes and mirroring her pose. "What?" He smirked, "You want more already?" His voice came out more like a rumble, having not yet washed off the envelopment of sleep.

As the morning sun began to rise, and his once brown eyes began to sparkle with flecks of gold, Daniela decided that maybe, perhaps in another life, she could have learned to love this man. Maybe not romantically, but they could have learned to accept each other. They could've raised a family together, and ruled the underworld with one another. The Cavallone would have never seen such a fierce leader as herself before, let alone a woman leader. But if her namesake -Ottava Vongola- had succeeded, Daniela knew that she could, too. Many thoughts raced through her head, and her lips parted in preparation to say something, anything, but then she grimaced. What if she regretted her next words?

"What is it?" He asked, brows slightly furrowed in concern, "Is everything alright? Who do I need to kill?"

She searched his face for a sign of dishonesty, but found none. He meant it, even if he didn't love her.

"Tell me about Nana." She simply commanded as she pulled at her pillow, making herself comfortable. Still facing the man, she laid herself back down on their shared bed and waited patiently for his response.

The tension in his face relaxed as he, too, made himself comfortable. "Oh, is that all? Are you jealous, or something? I already told Timoteo that I cut it off with her."

His tone was jovial, but his facial expressions couldn't quite match his voice.

Daniela had the pleasure of knowing Iemitsu's father, Ietsuna, before he passed.  _All_  Sawada men wore their hearts on their sleeves.

" _Please_ ," she exhaled a bit out of her nose, "you think I don't notice you sloppily hiding her letters in a book that you never read? Or that I don't hear you writing her back when you think that I've fallen asleep?"

His face dropped into what one could only describe as an "oh, shit"'expression.

"I'm not upset, Iemitsu. Tell me about her."

"...Well," he said after a while, after realizing that she wasn't being malicious in any way, "Nana is the daughter of one of my father's friends, back home in Namimori."

"Oh? A bit young to be your childhood friend though, isn't she?"

Iemitsu laughed. "Oh, yes. She was an adorable kid. I didn't see her often, though, and it wasn't until recently that I realized, she's bloomed into a beautiful woman."

"More beautiful than me?" Daniela joked.

"Oh, no," Iemitsu responded truthfully, "You're beautiful in a regal sort of way, with your long hair, piercing eyes, and snow white skin. You're all sharp and jagged. But  _Nana_? No, she's something else entirely. Maybe beautiful's not the right word. But she's definitely cute, cute enough for me. Cute and soft."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"I'm not blind."

"She looks like a bunny, you know." She said, changing the subject.

At that, he chuckled.

"She used to follow me around like one when we were children." He sighed happily, "Man, those were the days. I used to get so annoyed with her, like, ' _go away- you can't play with the big kids,_ ' but it turns out, she's just had a crush on me all along." Iemitsu looked Daniela in the eyes, "It's as if we were made for each other, you know?"

Daniela smiled complacently, although not sadly. "No, I don't know. But I think I might understand."

"You've never been in love?"

"I do  _love_." She replied, "I love my brothers, Dante, and sweet little baby, Dino. I love the rush of adrenaline I get when I complete a mission. I love my guardians, and I love that they've all willingly pledged themselves to me, despite the fact that I'm not a sky. But, no, I've never been in love. I don't think I'm capable of a love like that."

"Huh," he looked at her introspectively. That made a surprising lot of sense. In all the years he'd known her; throughout even the worst of their teenaged years, he'd never seen her with any man or woman. "You're missing out."

"So I've heard."

"When I look at Nana, my heart accelerates. It's like an adrenaline rush, but multiplied by five. My face gets warm and I can't help but smile when I'm around her. It's impossible for me to hide my feelings."

"It's impossible for you to hide your feelings in general."

"Wha- hey! What's that supposed to me-"

"Do you want to get divorced?" She interrupted.

Iemitsu's jaw dropped open. "What?"

"Do you want to?"

"I mean, no offense," he stared her down, "but of course I do. Is this a joke?"

"No offense taken." She shook her head, "Why would I joke about this?"

He sat up and looked down at her, the blanket that had previously been shielding them slid down to his waist, and she shuddered as the cold air hit her all at once.

"What about the alliance? What will I tell Timoteo?"'

"I don't  _care_  what you tell him. As if the alliance would fall apart  _just like that_ ," here, she snapped her fingers, "if we got divorced." She rolled her eyes, "those grandpas are old-fashioned and you know it. You've known me for years now. Have I  _ever_  let any man tell me what I can and can't do with my body?"

He laughed, a full-bodied, straight from the belly laugh. "That's right, of course not. You're Daniela Cavallone and you'd never let anyone forget it. But if you've always planned to get divorced so soon, why did you marry me in the first place?"

She placed a hand on her stomach. "The laws of Familia Cavallone are old, IemI tsu. I've never wanted to be married, to be tied down by anyone."

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"But I want a child, and I can't take over the familia if I were to act as a whore and had one out of wedlock."

As understanding dawned on him, she gently placed one of his hands on her stomach.

"I've never loved any man or woman, but I've always wanted a child. Congratulations, Iemitsu."

"Well," his eyes lit up happily, "isn't this a cause for celebration?" He leaned over her and trapped her between his arms before placing a knee between her thighs.

She wrapped her arms over his shoulders, nails lightly scratching at the nape of his neck. "Won't you feel bad for Nana?"

"Well aren't we going to get divorced after this anyway?"

* * *

Kazue's existence was a need-to-know status. To the rest of the underworld, Daniela and Iemetsu had a short-lived, but happy marriage that bore no fruit. However, for Don Cavallone, his daughter's divorce, and subsequently, his granddaughter's birth, were all he needed to name Daniela heir apparent to the Cavallone. Of course, this brought much discourse within the upper divisions of the familia. Not only was she a woman, she was also a single mother, and she wasn't even a sky. The damned woman was a  _cloud_  despite being the product of a sky and a sun. A recessive gene was perhaps to blame. But Don Cavallone didn't care for the traditions of the past, he'd been a good friend of Donna Ottava Vongola, afterall. Even after marrying Daniela off to Iemitsu, Dante had never been his first choice for heir. He was too rash, too emotional. And Don Cavallone had been too scared to name his youngest child heir, for Dino was far, far too young. The Don might have become ill with his old age, but definitely not senile. The timing of his daughter's divorce couldn't have been better. It was fate. Fate wanted Daniela to lead the familia.

When Kazue turned three, her grandfather retired from the underworld, and her mother took the mantle of Donna Cavallone.

And that is where Kazue's story truly began.

* * *

His second wedding wasn't nearly as perfect as his first. He didn't plan on marrying Nana so soon after his split with Daniela. He planned to woo her some more, to take her out on more dates, to properly sit down with her parents and discuss his intentions. He planned to ease Nana into the roles of girlfriend, fiancé, wife, and then finally, mother.

Iemitsu wasn't a patient man by any means. He would laugh in your face and call you an idiot if you even tried to imply that he was well organized. Iemitsu was a  _do-it-at-your-own-pace_  sort of guy, you know, the  _chill-out-man-I-got-this_  type of man. But he at least had this planned out. He would work a few more years as head of CEDEF, save up a whole lot of money, find and train a replacement, and then nope the heck out of the underworld. He had no intention of going back to school and finishing his degree, so maybe once they settled down into a slightly bigger house, he would go to work at some local construction company. Then, after a couple more years of working, he would happily retire and just live at home with his cute Nana and all of their hypothetical children.

So when his beloved 19-year-old university student girlfriend, Nana, sat down and placed a positive pregnancy test before him, Iemetsu about fainted.

Not again. Not so soon. Not like this.

His head became a jumbled mess. This was too soon. He didn't want to be a dad. Not yet.

He had a plan, you know? He could hardly blame Nana for getting pregnant, it  _does_  take  _two_  to tangle, but man, how was he going to impress her parents, then? How was he going to be able to properly sit down with them and have a discussion about his intentions?

"Your dad," Iemitsu licked his lips, "D-does he...have you told your parents yet?"

At that, Nana promptly burst into tears.

"My d-dad," she cried, "he never wants to see me again! I tried to go home today and they put all my stuff in trash-bags and left them by the curb!"

That's right. Nana came from a very religious family, too. He should have known better. He should have been more careful.

"Am I bad, Iemitsu? Am...am I going to go to hell?"

"No, not at all!" Iemitsu panicked, "No, of course not. You know what? This was good timing anyway because uhh..."

He shot straight out of his chair and pulled many of the drawers on his desk open. He fumbled about frantically, whispering apologies to his ex-wife under his breath as he searched for a box. A small box. A ring box.

_Forgive him for using the same rings._

He snatched the box right out of his junk drawer and kneeled before his girlfriend... _er_...his wife. Nana was going to become his wife.

"Nana," he wasn't ready to be a dad, "Will you marry me?"

She said yes.

That very moment, the couple marched straight to the courthouse, hand in hand. There was no grand wedding, no after-party, no lavish honeymoon. They got married, just the two of them, with some random elderly woman there as witness.

A few days later, Iemitsu bought them the best house he could with the money he had— he had more money than that, of course, but that was all stored in offshore accounts, and it would have been pretty suspicious to suddenly have such a large influx of money in his accounts.

This was not the life he had planned. This was not the life he wanted.

So he rain away.

"Alright, honey," he said, "I'm going to become a star now! I'll be working for a construction company in Italy for a while, but I'll come back before our baby is born, okay?"

Iemitsu ran away, and Nana lived in the home of her dreams,  _without_  the man of her dreams. She kept herself busy. She cooked, she cleaned. She went to the market sometimes and befriended some of the other mothers, though none were as young as her. She tried her best to continue her studies, but the pregnancy was hard. She couldn't bare it alone.

So she dropped out of school.

And then she waited, and she waited. She waited for nine whole months. And while she waited, she kept that same, placid smile on her face. She's not dumb, you know? She could hear the whispers of the neighborhood gossips.

Nana got pregnant out of wedlock. It was a shotgun wedding. Nana married a foreigner. He had tan skin and blond hair. Nana got kicked out of her childhood home. Her parents want nothing to do with her. Nana dropped out of university. Her foreigner husband left her. Where did he go? We haven't seen him in a while. Does he even love her?

 _Of course_  he loved her! Iemitsu finally returned, see? Just in time for her little Tuna fish to be born. She just had to be patient. He named the boy "Sawada Tsunayoshi" and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before running off to be a star again, with promises of returning soon and a future of grandeur.

Iemitsu ran off again, but Nana wasn't sad at all. How could she be? After all, she was married to the man of her dreams, and she wasn't alone in her big house anymore. She had Tsunayoshi. She plastered a smile onto her face and promised her baby that she would become the best mom that she could be. And once Iemitsu was finished being a star, he would come home for good. They'd maybe adopt a dog, and have a couple more children, and become one big happy family. Until then, she would continue to wait. Nana was good at waiting.

She was a patient woman. She had to be.

* * *

Mama is sick. She's not sick like Nonno is. Kazue overheard the doctors. Mama is even sicker than that. It's because she's a cloud, they say, that's why her body isn't fighting off the disease as it should. This word, she doesn't know what it means, but her Mama's body  _propagates_. If she were sky like Nonno, her body would  _harmonize_ , and the disease would be temporarily subdued. If she were a sun like her late Nonna, she would have never gotten sick in the first place. But Mama is a  _cloud_. And Mama is sick. And Kazue knows that she's young (she's five now!) and she doesn't understand a whole lot, but she does know that Mama is dying.

Kazue has a large familia (over 5,000 people! Isn't that neat?) but only  _one Mama_. She's smart for her age, you see. She doesn't really know what dying really is yet, but she understands that sometimes people go to sleep and they don't wake up again. She doesn't know what she'll do if suddenly one day, Mama went to sleep forever. Who would tell her bedtime stories? Surely not Uncle Dante. Kazue likes him, but he's mean sometimes. He yells at his guardians, and Mama says that guardians are the closest family anyone could ever get. Mama's guardians are her best friends.

Nonno's guardians don't like that Mama has guardians, though. They say that it's because she's a cloud. She shouldn't have guardians. But that's not fair! Mama deserves to have best friends.

What's wrong with being a cloud?

Mama says that one day, Kazue will have guardians, too. You see, Kazue is like her Nonno, and her Uncle Dante, and her big brother (technically, he's her uncle, but he says he's too young for that) Dino, and her Papa, whom she really knows nothing about. Mama believes that Kazue is also a sky. People like skies. Skies are popular.

What if she wants to be a cloud, too? Like her Mama? But people don't like clouds.

Why don't people like clouds? Kazue likes making friends, but apparently, clouds aren't allowed to have friends.

She wants to be a cloud! But people don't like clouds!

The more Kazue's thoughts circle, the angrier she becomes. So angry, in fact, that she turns into a tiny ball of righteous fury.

"Kazue?" Daniela pokes a squishy belly, "Il mio bambino, what are you thinking about?"

The child continues to do her best impression of a scowl (honestly, it looks more like a pout) and crosses her arms. She huffs out another little breath and faces the opposite direction of her mother. "Mama, don't talk to me right now. I'm angry."

"Oh." Daniela laughs, "Want to tell me why you're angry, then?"

"No." The girl responds before climbing onto her mother's lap, still not making eye contact with the woman, "I don't want to."

"You don't want to, but  _will_  you?"

Kazue begins to crawl away.

"Please?" Daniela drags the child back by her feat.

"Gosh, Mama! Fine!" Kazue presses her face into the sheets, "Why don't people like you?" She finally asks, voice muffled by the mountain of blankets.

Jacques, Daniela's rain, who stands guard at the corner of the room throws his head back and laughs.

"Ugh! Mama!" Kazue points, "Uncle J is laughing at me! This is why I didn't want to ask."

Daniela smothers a giggle of her own with her hand then throws one of her pillows at the man. He allows the cushion to hit him before dramatically falling to the ground, amusing the five-year-old to no end.

"Haha, she got you!" The girl laughs, and her previously self-induced anger is forgotten.

"Why do you think people dislike me?" Daniela asks as she turns her child toward her.

"Nonno's friends don't want you to have friends. Because you're a cloud. Why?"

"Hmm," Daniela taps her pointer finger on her chin, pretending to ponder, "Well, clouds have a reputation."

"What kind of rep-" she pauses, allowing her tongue some time to learn how to pronounce the word, "reputation?"

"Have you ever seen someone put a cloud in a box, or tie one down with rope?"

Kazue laughs. "No, Mama! That's silly!"

"Exactly!" Daniela laughs, "It's silly to tell a cloud what to do. We do whatever we want, and people don't like that. Sometimes people try to control us anyway, but then my fellow clouds lash out and fight. And then people become scared of them."

"But that's dumb." Kazue frowns, "They made the clouds mad in the first place!"

"That's right, but they don't understand that. Clouds wouldn't get aggressive unless they were approached aggressively first. But now, because people have made so many clouds so angry, we have a bad reputation. And people don't like clouds. They don't even give us a chance."

"Nonno's friends are silly." Kazue decides, "Clouds deserve best friends too. I want to be a cloud like you too, Mama. So I can do whatever I want."

Eyes no longer full of merriment, Daniela simply gazes at her child.

She doesn't deserve such a smart little girl.

"Oh, mio bambino, there was a time when I wished that I were a sky, like you."

Kazue breathes in a scandalized gasp.

"Skies can do whatever they want, too. But unlike clouds, where the skies are our limits, even the heavens seem to bow down to you."

Daniela kisses her daughter's forehead.

"I once knew a really, really strong sky. It's been a few years, so I'm not sure if his personality has changed, but how would you like to meet him?"

"Who is it?" Kazue asks, bouncing up and down on her mother's lap, "Is he one of Nonno's friends?"

"Hm...in a way of speaking, yes."

"Ooooh!" The girl squeals, "Where does he live, Mama?"

She laughs.

"He lives in Namimori, Japan. Uncle J will drop you off there first, okay? Then I'll come get you as soon as I finish what I need to here."

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

"Okay!" Kazue scrambles off of her mother's bed before running up to the aforementioned rain. "Uncle J, up!" She practically climbs his leg.

The adults exchange sad, knowing looks, as Jacques's post is taken over by Daniela's storm, and he leaves the chamber doors.

The last words Kazue hears before being lulled to sleep (unwillingly, by Jacques's flames) are, "I love you!"'

As the doors close behind them, Daniela pulls her knees towards her chest and hugs herself.

She can't be ill, be Donna, and be Mama all at once.

Clouds never break their promises, but maybe Kazue will eventually forgive her if she breaks just this one.

* * *

When Sawada Iemitsu answers the door, only to be greeted by a lone child, he recognizes her nearly instantly. Sawada Kazue is a near spitting image of her mother. Her hair color is a light, warm pink, that appears almost blonde in the sunlight. For now, her face is soft and delicate, like a porcelain doll. But there is no doubt in his mind that when she's older, her features will sharpen, and she'll look even more like her mother.

Kazue stares up at him curiously, and Iemitsu immediately sees a part of himself.

He expects to meet with eyes as dark as coal, but instead…

Her eyes are the color of honey.

"Darling!" He calls out to his wife. His wife, Nana, not Daniela. "Darling, we have an emergency!" He yells.

He ushers the pink-haired child— his child into his home.

"Yes, dear?" Nana descends the staircase with her own child (four years old now) hanging off her neck. "Oh." She pauses to look the girl with her husband's eyes, "Oh, who's this?"

She already knows the answer.

"This is the daughter of an old friend of mine." He responds with fake excitement, "She'll be staying with us for a while!"

Iemitsu knows that Daniela wouldn't send their spawn to him unless it was an emergency. So he lets the unannounced visit pass.

"The daughter of a friend?" She asks.

Nana is fine with the constant disappearing. If you squinted a little and looked at the situation with your head tilted sideways, you could even call Iemitsu's spontaneous disappearing and reappearing acts romantic. But she's  _tired_  of all the lies. Tsunayoshi is going to grow up eventually. She can't just keep telling him that his father often leaves them to become a star, that makes it sound like he's off to  _die_.

She looks him in the eyes. If he loves her, he'd tell her the truth. Just this once.

"Yes," he answers, "She's Daniela's daughter."

He can't muster up the courage to say ' _she's mine_ ,' but Daniela, that name is familiar enough. Nana knows that name. It's not  _technically_  a lie. She exhales with relief.

Kazue's eyes dart between the two adults. She's nervous. Unsure.

"Kazue," the man kneels before her and asks in Italian, "Do you know how to speak Japanese?"

She nods once.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to my wife, Nana? You can call me...uh..." He hesitates. He glances up at his wife who nods at him, granting him permission over something that she really has no right to give. "I guess you can call me Papa."

Papa? Is this guy her father? And if he's not, is he even allowed to introduce himself like that?

Kazue is a good girl, though, so she turns to the matron of the house and bows a low bow, the one that Mama said signified the utmost respect.

"Hello," she greets in Japanese, "My name is Kazue."

Nana's smile is strained. "It's nice to meet you, Kazue! I've always wanted a big family. You can call me Mama."

Kazue snaps back up like a rubber band, and she stares Nana down with an uncharacteristically serious expression for a five year old.

She is not Mama. Kazue only has  _one_  Mama.

"No, thanks. I already have a Mama." She responds icily, "Can I call you something else?"

"Of course," Nana swallows once before asking her a question just as seriously. "What would you prefer?"

The staring contest continues for a little bit before she finally answers, "Okaa-sama."

She wants to be as distant from this woman as possible. Kazue doesn't like this woman. She gives off a bad vibe, and Kazue's never been wrong about reading a vibe before. It's like her sixth sense.

The sky within Iemitsu notices the chilly air between his daughter and his wife, but he chooses to ignore it. He lies to himself.

(It looks like they'll get along fine!)

"Well now," he says after kissing Nana on the cheek, "I'm off to be a star!"

He runs away again.

* * *

**Note** : The reason why Iemitsu acted so differently when Daniela announced that she was pregnant versus Nana are the circumstances. Daniela and Iemitsu were already married, Daniela literally just admitted that she only used Iemitsu for the baby, and it was understood between them that at the time, Daniela had no intentions of making Iemetsu a father unless he wanted to be one. He didn't want a child at the time, so he wasn't involved in caring for Kazue. No worries.

With Nana, they weren't married, she was still in school, and he wanted to make a good impression towards her family. Turns out the dumb dumb still hadn't figured out how to use a condom though. He still wasn't ready to be a father, but he knew that he wanted to be committed to Nana.

I hope this is a good explanation for why Iemitsu was so often absent in canon. And also why Nana was so ready to adopt every single child ever.

Anyway, please feel free to subscribe, leave a kudos, or comment! I would love to hear your thoughts and/or opinions! Just please be nice about it or I'll probably cry lol. My love for KHR has just recently been revitalized so please look forward to seeing how this story goes!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2** : The Concept of Relationships

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

**Note** : Please comment so that I can feel validated and motivated to write more lol. 

* * *

It's a week after Kazue moves in with the Sawada matriarch that she realizes what it is about Nana that's so unsettling to her. Sawada Nana has never worked for a single thing in her entire life. The woman isn't what Kazue would really consider  _pretty_. At least not as pretty as her own mother, but yet, men can't really seem to keep their eyes off of her.

Nana's charm isn't her looks, and it most certainly isn't her personality. Talking to Nana is like talking to a tree. She's bland. Passive. She doesn't have a voice of her own. She can't, not if she wants to be well liked by  _everyone_. Nana has a knack of being able to just know what is expected of her, and she just does it. No questions asked. She isn't special in any sort of way.

Which is why Kazue is currently in  _so much shock_.

As the Sawada trio walks through Namimori Market, nearly every man hands the woman a freebie. Oh, she's looking at the fruit stand?  _Here's a sack of bananas._  She has two toddlers with her? Quick,  _here's a gallon of milk._  My, what adorable children! Have these  _free toys_!

Nana ponders aloud that she wants to cook pork for dinner.

"Here, Mama Sawada, some fresh pork ribs ready to be marinated!"

Kazue almost trips.

A high pitched gasp. "What do I owe you, Mr. Yuno?"

"No, no, Mama," the man chuckles fondly, "It's on me!"

Kazue's jaw drops.

"My~!" Nana cooes. "How lucky!"

Lucky?  _Lucky_?!

Kazue finds it damn near impossible to just chalk this all up to luck.

Something about this whole situation just feels  _wrong_.

The rest of the grocery run goes just as smoothly. Has Nana even spent a dime?

Before the Sawada trio finally leaves the market, they happen upon a dessert stand.

"Oh, this place is new!" Nana squeals. She loves sweets. "Crepes! Tsu-chan, Ka-chan, would you like to try some?"

"Yes, please!" and, "As long as you don't mind." overlap.

Nana pulls Tsuna up and rests him on her hip with one arm. She pats Kazue's head with her other hand.

"I don't mind at all, dear!"

Kazue shivers at the touch.

"Excuse me," Nana approaches the stall owner, "I don't think we've met!"

The man laughs awkwardly, "Oh, no! I've actually just moved to town. I'm Aishizawa. It's very nice to meet you, Miss..."

"Oh, please," Nana waves dismissively, and Kazue watches in stunned silence when the woman then says, "You can just call me Mama Sawada."

"Of course, Mama Sawa-"

The rest of the conversation fades out and merely becomes background noise when Kazue suddenly feels a sharp pain in her head, just behind her eyeballs. Look up.  _Look up_. She looks up at Nana and is horrified to see the ever so slight glow of  _violet_  that lights the woman's eyes.

Mama is the trigger word, and this man, Aishizawa, has now fallen under Nana's  _spell_.

"Here you go, Mama Sawada," the man hands Nana two crepes, "Free of charge for being my first friend in Namimori."

Nana feeds Tsuna a crepe with a pleased hum after she hands Kazue the other. They eat while they walk.

"How lucky we were," Nana nearly sings, "that we happened to be Mr. Aishizawa's first friends."

The sharp pain goes away.

Kazue studies the woman again, and the air around Nana has not a single hint of any sinister or negative energy. She is completely unaware of her own power.

Kazue doesn't know what's worse. Being the victim of a spell that makes one adore another person unconditionally, or being the unconscious caster of the spell all along.

She contemplates in silence as she munches on her dessert.

Sawada Nana is unsettling because she hasn't worked a day in her life.

Sawada Nana is unsettling because throughout her whole life, she's always been  _lucky_.

* * *

"Alright, class!" A mint haired teacher claps her hands together while her assistants herd the children toward her. "My name is Flower-sensei, and I would love to welcome you to the first day of Namimori daycare this season!"

The classroom explodes into cheerful chatter and applause. Kazue scrunches up her face in distaste.

"Woah!" A younger child exclaims. He looks up at Kazue. "She's so pretty! Ka-nee, do you think she's nice?"

Kazue crosses her arms across her chest as the oldest kids, the six year olds, lead the shushing of the children. She will not indulge this woman's fantasy. There is no way that Flower is her real name, and she will not address her as such until proven otherwise. Besides. She's giving off a very ominous vibe.

"Ka-nee?" The child asks again, tugging on her sleeve when she takes too long to answer.

"She'll be nice." Kazue concludes. Flower's vibe doesn't seem malicious; just artificial. She lays a hand on her brother's fluffy head and pats him a couple times, like one would a small animal. Such as a kitty. Or a sheep. She gets a little distracted while petting him, trying to figure out what he looked like.

He beams up at her.

Oh.

A bunny!

"Don't worry about it too much, Tsuna. If anyone's mean to you, I'll handle it."

She gives him a gummy grin when he flails excitedly. Her brother definitely reminds her of a bunny.

"My~! We have so many  _adorable_  new faces this year!" She squeals. Lord, she's  _annoying_. "I'm going to run off to fix you all some morning snacks now, okay?" Flower's voice drips of faux sweetness. Kazue shudders. How this woman has managed to work at a daycare for so long flies right over her head because it's so glaringly  _obvious_  that she hates children. Why is she the only one who notices?

The children cheer as Flower scurries away. They want their snacks.

"Hi, kids!" Another woman, blonde this time, steps forward as Flower leaves the room. "You can call me  _Sparkle_ -sensei, and my friend here with red hair is  _Candy_ -sensei!"

Is this a joke? Why can't they just use their given names?

"We're going to do a fun little activity while we wait for your snacks, okay?" Candy announces, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she does so.

She scans the woman up and down. Well, this one isn't so bad.

Kazue decides that she likes Candy the best. She's the most genuine, but  _God_ , this unicorn-fairyland ruse has to stop.

"We're going to split you up into three," Candy holds up three fingers, "different corners now."

"Hiee!"

Tsuna grabs onto one of Kazue's hands with both of his. "No," he whispers, panicked, "I don't want to be split from you, Ka-nee."

"We'll still be in the same room," she squeezes back in reassurance. "I'll be able to see if you need help."

He doesn't let go, still not believing her.

"Tsuna!" She whisper exasperatedly.

"Okay, then! I'm going to need all of the four-year-olds," Kazue nudges Tsuna forward, "To meet me in  _this_  corner, right here!" Sparkle exclaims. "And on the opposite side of the room," Sparkle points, just in case they don't know what opposite means, "that's where I want the five-year-olds to meet! All the six-year-olds should meet in the corner to the right of me with Candy-sensei."

Candy waves from her post.

Tsuna's grasp on Kazue's hand becomes even tighter when she makes a move toward her corner. " _C'mon_ , Tsu." She wiggles her way out, "You're going to be fine."

He shakes his head.

"Tsu." She grabs his shoulders and squares him toward her. " _You are going to be fine_. Go to your corner and make some friends."

Finally, he relents, and she watches fondly as he waddles nervously toward his group. It's only been a few months since she has moved in with the Sawada family, but Tsuna has already become so much more independent than he was when they were first introduced. What,  _this_  level of shy is bad? She lived with Nana for three entire days before Tsuna eventually detached himself from his mother's leg, and another week before he deemed it okay to be alone with Kazue in a room.

When Kazue arrives at her own corner, she realizes that the five-year-olds are the smallest group. She doesn't mind. It's easier to make friends this way. She's about to introduce herself, when the most energetic child she's ever laid eyes on beats her to it.

"Hi!" He pretty much yells in a black haired kid's face, "I'm Sasagawa Ryohei! Wanna be friends?"

The other kid clicks his tongue in response and looks away.

" _Hello_?" Ryohei waves a hand in front of the gloomier kid's line of vision, "Can you see me?" He clears his throat, " _Can you hear me?!_ " He asks even louder.

This continues on for a couple more seconds before,

"No." The other kid grumbles.

" _No to what_?" Ryohei about screeches.

"Hey," another child with midnight blue, nearly black hair nudges her, "You watching this soap opera too?"

She nudges him back and snorts when Ryohei yells another 'HEY' at their classmate. "Do you even know what a soap opera is?"

He mulls over it for a bit.

"No," her companion admits with a sly grin, "but my Pa says that my Ma watches too many of them."

Ooooh, this kid is funny. He got a nose exhale for that one.

"My name is Sawada Kazue," she introduces herself, "I am pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"You talk fancy," the boy laughs, "Keigo? Seriously?"

She shrugs with a smile. That's just how she was taught Japanese. Her mother also only spoke in Keigo.

Ryohei pauses his assault on the other boy and turns toward Kazue and her companion. He points an accusatory finger at the boy. "Not fair, Kensuke! I extremely wanted to make a friend first!"

The boy, who she's now learned is named Kensuke, throws his head back and sighs dramatically. "Should've at least waited for me to introduce myself first, idiot. Now I have to scrap my cool introduction line."

He's supposed to be whining, but it comes out so monotonously that it's pretty comical.

"I'll be  _your_  friend too, Ryohei, if that helps."

" _What?_!" Ryohei gasps, "Did you tell her my name, Kensuke?"

"No, idiot, you just shouted it loud enough for the whole room to hear."

"Oh. Well, it's  _extremely nice to meet you!_ " He grabs her right hand and shakes it pretty aggressively.

That is, until Kensuke smacks Ryohei right behind the head. "Stop it, dummy, you're going to hurt her. Not all of us have Titan grip like you do."

"oH  _YOU'RE_   _RIGHT_. I am EXTREMELY sorry!" He snaps his upper body forward and bows so low, so quickly that she's not even sure what to do with herself.

Her vibe detector practically hums as her eyes scan the two boys. She's never felt this way before. She feels as if her soul was telling her to  _claim_  them. (In the future, she'll think back at this moment, where it all began, and wonder.  _Did their souls hum too?_ )

"How do you know each other?" She asks. There's gotta be a story behind this unlikely friendship. Ryohei seems really...high energy for such a passive guy like Kensuke.

" _We're gym neighbors_!" Ryohei yells.

She blinks. They're...what? She looks at the other boy for an explanation.

"Our dads are friends. Ryohei's dad owns EXTREME," he slightly raises his voice when he says 'Extreme,' and glances wearily at his 'gym neighbor' for approval. When Ryohei exhales out of his nose once (resembling a bull), and nods, Kensuke continues, "Boxing Gym and it happens to be right next to Pa's kendo dojo. We both train and often come around to help our dads out, so we see each other a lot."

"Oh-"

"You two know how to fight?" A voice interrupts them, and the three of them turn to recognize the boy that Ryohei was screaming at just moments earlier.

"I  _extremely_  do!" Ryohei pumps a fist into the air to prove his point.

"I mean, kendo's not really for  _fighting_ , but I guess I  _could_." Kensuke responds.

"And you?" The black haired boy juts a chin out in her direction.

"I learned a bit of wushu before I moved to Namimori, but I haven't been able to find anyone to teach me here." Her Mama was once her teacher, but nowadays, she runs through her  _taolu_ , known in Japanese as  _kata_ , all by herself. Without anyone around to correct her stances, Kazue isn't as good as she'd like to be.

His eyes almost seem to sparkle in satisfaction at her response, though. "My hahaue is a practitioner of wushu."

His tone is inviting, but he didn't offer her anything. However, despite this,  _his_  vibe hums to her as well.

"Oh, so  _now_  you're talking to us?" Kensuke squints at him suspiciously, "I thought you didn't want friends."

"You people aren't my  _friends_." The kid snaps, baring his unusually sharp canines for the other three children to see, "I just suppose you're  _worthy_  enough to talk to."

Ryohei doesn't understand a single word that comes out of Gloomy's mouth, so he automatically translates the black haired kid's words to 'Let's be friends.' He lets out several whoops of excitement while he shadow boxes the air and shouts, "I didn't just make one friend! _I made two_!"

Gloomy clenches his fists at his side and twitches. He deeply regrets socializing already.

Kensuke's body sags into itself, as if to make himself smaller. Ryohei is embarrassing as hell, and it only seems to get worse every year. "I'm so sorry about him. No one can control him."

Gloomy clicks his tongue again and begins to walk away. He doesn't have time for Ryohei's bizarre antics.

"Wait, what's your name?" Kazue asks, and he pauses in his steps. She can't just keep calling him 'gloomy' in her head.

He grins at her. She thinks that it's supposed to look feral or menacing, but he only reminds her of a puppy. When his vibe is so bright, she can't see him as anything other than a future comrade.

"Hibari Kyoya." He responds. "Remember it, or  _I'll bite you to death_."

"See, that's what I mean by a cool introductory line," Kensuke complains to Ryohei, "and now Kyoya's really out here making us look  _lame_."

"WHAT? I  _NEVER_  LOOK LAME-"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, Tsuna shyly approaches the chattering group of four-year-olds. He decides, after scanning the crowd, that they're far too loud. He stands off, by himself, at the outer edge of the group. He plays with his sleeves. At least he's not crying.

"Oi," someone lightly taps his foot with their own, and he cringes.

Was he...was he being bullied?

" _OI._ " The voice says again, and this time, they kick at his foot a little harder.

Tsuna looks up to see two girls standing side-by-side. They're both very pretty, but only one of them is smiling. The nice one looks really cute with her short ginger hair tied up into two little pig tails. The other girl has her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. She has wavy brown hair.

"What's your name?" The scowling one asks.

Tsuna pouts. She must have been the one who kicked him.

"Hana-chan," the ginger admonishes, "you can't ask someone their name without introducing yourself first. It's impolite."

Tsuna likes her.

"My name is Sasagawa Kyoko, and this is my best friend Kurokawa Hana." She says, "What's your name?"

He feels his face heat up. Were they really asking? They really wanted to be his friends? "I'm Tsuna." He says. The girls look at him expectantly, waiting to see if he'll say any more. "Um. It's nice to meet you?" He smiles meekly.

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"A statement?"

Kyoko giggles, and Hana relaxes from her don't-heck-with-me stance and smiles back. "You don't seem as annoying as the other kids." She explains.

The three of them turn to study their assigned group. A hoard of boys are gathered around, shouting at one another, and battling with their deyblades. On the other hand, a whole bunch of girls are fighting amongst each other, attempting to capture the attention of a tanned boy with black hair and a nice laugh. "See?" Hana gestures towards the little monsters, "Annoying. I hate kids. In large quantities, they give me  _hives_."

"She's not exaggerating." Kyoko nods solemnly.

"But you  _are_  a kid." Tsuna laughs, "How can you hate them?"

" _I hate them_." She hisses, "Don't make me say it again."

"Okay!" He squeaks. He looks back down at his shoes to avoid further eye contact. Hana sighs, but does nothing to fix the awkward tension that arises shortly after. She's not much of a conversationalist. It runs in the family.

"Do you have any siblings?" Kyoko suddenly asks, attempting to find common ground, "I have an older brother, and Hana has an older cousin."

At this, Tsuna perks up excitedly. "I have an older sister. She's right over there."

He points across the room at a girl with pink hair. She notices and waves at them enthusiastically. The trio waves back.

"You guys look nothing alike." Kyoko giggles, "But that's okay. I don't look like my brother either. He's the tanned one with white hair standing next to her."

"Oh,  _that_  one?" That kid's been in the center of Tsuna's attention for a while now. He's very loud. "Does he have an inside voice?"

"What do you mean?" Kyoko asks, wide eyed.

Hana laughs, "That  _is_  his inside voice."

His jaw drops. " _How do you live with that?_ " He whispers.

"You learn to tune it out eventually. And their dad is probably just as loud, if not louder, so…" she trails off.

Tsuna is blessed to have such a polite older sister.

"Um, Hana? Is your cousin here? Which one is she?"

Hana just about chokes.

"Uh, he's a he." She ignores Tsuna's apology and watches as her cousin smashes some kid's deyblade to pieces for allowing it to roll into his foot. "I'll give you three guesses which one his is."

Tsuna follows her line of sight and pales when he realizes what the kid is doing.

"Your cousin's really scary."

"He's a lot nicer than he looks. My mom says that he's just emotionally stunted."

"He's wha-"

"Alright, class! Now that you've all made friends, I want you all to seat yourselves in groups of three or four." Flower returns with the morning snacks, "We'll pass these out once you're all settled."

"Remember," Candy reminds the children, "Whoever you choose to sit with now will be your group mates for the rest of the year, so choose carefully!"

Kazue, Ryohei, Kensuke, and Kyoya waste no movements as they run to claim the best seats in the classroom. Tsuna, Kyoko, and Hana decide on a quiet little island in the back corner of the room.

Moments later, to their surprise, the tanned boy with the nice laugh decides to join their group.

"I can sit here, right?" He asks sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with one hand while he pulls out the seat with the other. "Haha, those girls are getting really rowdy…"

He trails off when he is met with blank stares.

"Oh, yeah! My name is Yamamoto Takeshi."

* * *

Sawada Iemitsu returns briefly. For a weekend. Supposedly, it's because he 'missed his Tsuna-fish.'

Kazue knows that it's a lie. She doesn't know how she knows, but something in the back of her head tickles.  _You're the real reason_. It nags her.  _He's here to check on you_. Kazue doesn't call the man out on his bluff. There has to be a reason why he's hiding things from his wife, and Kazue isn't going to be the one to open  _that_  can of worms. After all, her mother taught her to be polite.

_Weaponize your smile._

Despite society being so fond of politeness, people are intimidated by those who exude it. People can't read politeness. It's a double edged sword.

_Kindness is not a weakness._

Iemitsu's presence sends tingles down Kazue's spine. It's not a pleasant experience. He's being impatient about something and his entire aura just screams  _lie_. Kazue twitches.

"Welcome home, Papa." She says, before leaving and fetching her brother. She doesn't give Iemitsu any time to respond. Her  _brain_  doesn't like to hear him speak.

If the man's excuse for coming home is to check on Tsuna, he should probably  _actually see_  Tsuna.

When Kazue enters Tsuna's bedroom, the boy is curled up into himself, and tucked in the furthest, darkest corner from the door.

She raises an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

He's shaking.

"Papa's downstairs, right?"

"Yeah, he is." She frowns, "How do you know that?"

Iemitsu was very quiet entering the house. And even now, she's sure that he's currently wowing Nana with a made up construction company story, but she can't hear him at all. There's no possible way that Tsuna could have  _heard_  Iemitsu entire their home.

Tsuna avoids her question and chooses instead to draw shapes into the carpet under him with his finger. Kazue approaches him carefully. He knows that she isn't going to let it go until he answers, but he doesn't want to. It's  _weird_.

"Tsuna." She demands, "How do you know that Papa is downstairs?"

" _Ifeemim_." He mumbles something under his breath with his face turned away from her.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

" _Ifeemim_."

She places her hands on his cheeks and turns his head toward her.

"You what?"

" _I feel him_." Tsuna blushes. It's hard to explain, but he just does. He knows it's weird and that no one else can  _just_  feel people, but he  _does_.

"How?" She asks.

He turns away from her again.

"Okay, then." She tries a different approach, "Why are you hiding from your Papa?"

"I don't like the way he feels."

She furrows her eyebrows. "You don't like the way he feels." She repeats flatly. She sits down with her legs criss-crossed and gives Tsuna the entirety of her attention.

"Explain."

"Everyone has a different feeling." Tsuna says simply.

Kazue stares. He stares back.

"Tsu-chan, that doesn't explain anything."

He thinks on it for a bit.

"Mama and Kyoko feel kind of similar. They feel... _kira kira_." He maintains eye contact with his sister to make sure she's following. "Hana feels dry. Like a desert. Takeshi feels like...how it feels when you're submerged in a warm bath. They're all different, but they're  _all warm_."

Kazue leans back and brings her arms behind her to brace her body.

"What do I feel like?"

She watches him calculatingly.

"You feel like a fireplace. You're strong, but you're calm, and you're patient." He grins, "Ka-nee, You're my favorite."

Kazue can't help but smile.

"And Papa?"

His face drops.

"Papa is  _cold._  And every time I talk to him, he feels even colder."

Kazue thinks she's beginning to understand. It's like how the hairs on the back of her neck stand whenever Iemitsu comes around.

"Tsuna, do you think you might know why?" She asks anyway.

"You already know." He insists.

"Do I?"

Tsuna nods. "You know."

"Tell me anyway."

"It's because he's a liar, Ka-nee."

She stills.

_Tsuna has a vibe reader of his own_. But his is better than her's. Kazue feels tingles, shivers, and little phantom pains throughout her body, but it's up to her to analyze the clues and draw her own conclusions. She can detect when things are  _wrong_ , but she just has to assume that everything else is  _right_. Tsuna's vibe reader seems to traight up just tells him exactly who and what he's talking to, and exactly what was wrong or right with the world. No wonder he's so shy and reluctant around other adults. No wonder he's so afraid of everything.

"Okay, then. What do you want to do?"

Now  _he's_  confused.

"What do you mean?"

"He's our father, Tsuna." She reminds, "We can't ignore him forever."

"Yes, we can." He says stubbornly.

"Okay, what if you get hungry? Or if you need to use the potty?"

His eyes widen when he realizes that she's right.

"O-oh, yeah."

She sighs when he gives her a look that she could compare to that of a kicked puppy.

"Well, I  _suppose_  we could try."

* * *

A bead of sweat rolls down Kazue's face, and she inhales deeply, preparing herself for her next move. Kensuke's finger twitches. He glances up at her with a mischievous grin.

"Do it," he goads, " _You know you want to._ "

Ryohei slams his hands on the top of his desk. " _Don't do it, Kazue._  You know it's a trap!"

" _Do it_." Her opponent laughs, "Are you scared or something? Do it, do it, do it, do it," he begins to chant.

Ryohei yells over him, " _Do not do it_! Kensuke is  _extremely_  evil!"

Kazue grabs her untensal of choice and stabs her desk with all the power she can muster. "Everybody, shut up." She demands. The boys watch in anticipation, Her next movements are slow, but steady.

Carefully, she marks an 'X' on the paper with her pen.

" _HAH,_ " Kensuke mocks as Kazue releases an agonized scream, realizing what she had done. He draws an 'O' on the sheet with the stinkiest, fattest marker he owns before raising his arms in the air in celebration of victory. "I AM THE KING OF TIC TAC TOE!"

"NO, I AM! I WANT AN EXTREME REMATCH!"

"I want one first!"

"YOU JUST WENT, KAZUE."

"So? I want to go aga-"

A disgruntled Kyoya approaches the trio. "You're idiots."

"Oh, whatever," Kazue waves him off while Kensuke does his best impression of an evil cackle, "You're just mad that he beat you yesterday."

He slams a fist on his desk. "That herbivore did not beat me. Games are just  _stupid_."

"Sure, sure," Kensuke shoves at Kyoya's shoulder, "What's got you so...extra angry today, anyway?"

"I am not  _angry_." He hisses.

He is met with identical raised eyebrows from Kazue and Kensuke. Ryohei is still wailing over crumpled sheets of tic tac toe 'battles.'

Kyoya clears his throat. Opens his mouth to speak. And then immediately closes it, gets back up, turns right around, and heads straight for the door.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah," Kensuke points a finger at Kyoya, "Ryoheimon," said Qokemon stands straight up and ceases his wailing. He salutes. "I choose you!" Kensuke half-shout-half-drones, "Make sure he doesn't escape!"

" _EXTREME_!" The boy yells as he tackles his target from behind. "WHAT'S THE MATTER, KYOYA? You can  _extremely_  tell us."

"Don't touch me," Kyoya throws a punch at his captor's cheek. Ryohei takes it like a champ. He knows Kyoya doesn't mean it.

Kyoya attempts to kick Ryohei off of him (Ryohei just rolls off, but remains lying on the floor) before standing up and crossing his arms across his chest, electing to pretend that  _that_  entire ordeal hadn't just happened.

"Hahaue wants me to invite you all over for tea after school today."

Ryohei gasps. "WE GET TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE?!"

Kensuke squints at the boxer. "Really? Is that what you're hung up on?"

Kyoya glares at them both.

"Of course, we'd love to come!" Kazue laughs. "Is that all?"

He looks down and kicks at the floor when he feels heat rise to his cheeks.

"I told her about you. She expects to take you on as a protege."

"Oh."

Kazue brings both of her hands to her own cheeks and squishes them, making herself resemble a goldfish. "Aw, Kyoya," she says, "You  _do_  care."

He scrunches his nose as if he sniffed something foul.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kensuke's eyes dart between them.

"Ohhhh,  _I_  see," he teases, "You just didn't want us to find out that you talk about-" he looks pointedly at Kazue. This action does not go unnoticed by the other two. "-us at home. We  _are_  your best friends!"

"You are an idiot. Don't bother coming."

"Oh? You're not denying it, though."

"I am rescinding your protoge status on behalf of my hahaue."

"KYOYA, DO MY EARS  _EXTREMELY_  DECIEVE ME? ARE WE BEST FRIENDS?"

"Your ears must have finally gone bad from your perpetual shouting."

"BFF's!" The  _other_  goof cries, "Best friends  _for life!_ "

* * *

**Note** : Honestly, hyper intuition is such a cheat. Not that they realize that's what they have. Can you imagine if Kazue and Tsuna didn't become mafia and became lawyers or detectives instead?

Anyway, I'm happy to have hashed out some of their relationships for you guys.

Tsuna trusts Nana a lot because he calls her Mama, and that's all he's ever known her as. We'll see if this changes in the future. He does not trust Iemitsu because the man is always lying. He depends on Kazue often for moral support. She's his rock.

Nana cares for Kazue, but only because she is her son's sister, and therefore a part of her family. Nana's unconscious "spell" as Kazue so kindly puts it stems from the desire to have a large family. It's all very twisted. Nana probably straight up used her own name as a trigger word or something when she was younger. Growing up, she  _was_  always  _lucky_.

Kazue and Tsuna made new friends! Hurray!

In my headcanon, OG Tsuna never had that little push from Kazue before all the children split off intro groups. When OG Hana kicked him to try to become friends, he literally thought that he was being bullied and burst into tears. They never became friends.

Also, here's how the Japanese public school system works if you don't know:

Until age 6, the children go to daycare. It's a mix of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten in the States. They learn cultural customs, manners, a tiny bit of history, and just generally how to be a good person. They learn a little bit of how to read and write, but it's mostly just a time to become acclimated to a classroom setting.

Ages 7-12 are 1st grade through 6th grade.

13, 14, and 15 are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of middle school. You can stop going to school at 15 if you wish, or you can take a high school entrance exam and continue your education. High school is not required. 16-18 is high school, and then the rest is University which is modeled similarly to how it is in the States.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** : The Concept of Family

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

**Note** : Please review!

* * *

桃巨会. That kanji. How is that read, again?

Oh, that's right. Does the name  _Momokyokai_  sound familiar? The Momokyokai are quite infamous in Japan. They're a large group, and despite the fact that their base of operations is located in a little town called Namimori, they  _do_ have members scattered across all of Japan, South Korea, and China. Their empire is considered one of the largest in the Asian underworld.

Their base could easily be relocated anywhere, but they insist on staying in Namimori.

Why?

Well. For their leader, of course.

Xi Meixiang is a ruthless leader and she takes suggestions from  _absolutely no one_.

The top brass had a lot of mixed feelings, of course, when Meixiang took over. Meixiang is certainly qualified to be in charge of the organization. She's highly intelligent, cunning, and has a tongue dipped in both gold  _and_ poison. Her physical prowess isn't anything to scoff at, either.

Meixiang earned the Momokyokai throne fair and square. She challenged the previous head to a duel, and she  _ripped his throat open with her teeth._

So why the controversy?

Her  _heritage_. Meixiang's father is a popular political figure in mainland China. It doesn't matter how estranged he is from her. The mere fact that he's in the public eye so often caused uneasiness within the organization. On the other hand, Meixiang's mother went by the name  _Alaude_  Li Mei— which means that her grandfather was a French man. And while some of the controversy  _does_  stem from the fact that she is of mixed heritage, the large majority of the issue lies in the fact that she is  _Chinese_ and was raised in China. The Japanese Yakuza was very reluctant to allow a dirty  _shina_  to take charge. (Of course, nobody has the balls to refer to her by that slur to her face. The last time someone did, she  _personally_  bit off his tongue.)

It appeared that somehow, the Momokyokai forgot their own history. Meixiang was quick to educate her newly acquired subordinates that she was only reclaiming what rightfully belonged to her.  _Momokyokai_. That name means absolutely nothing in Japanese. But read that same kanji again, this time, in Chinese.  _Táo Jù Huì_. The Peach Giants. One of the original  _San Ho Hui._ A triad group.

("I hope I won't need to give you this lesson again." Meixiang warned her council. "I will make an attempt to be merciful and at least  _pretend_  to be open minded if you criticize my decisions regarding this organization to my face. But if my  _heritage_ is ever brought up as an issue again-" she flashed her canines and slammed the base of her spear against the ground, "-I will not hesitate to  _eat you alive_.")

Now, you see, Meixiang is quite proud of being Chinese. Some might argue that the Momokyokai would triple in strength if they had relocated to say...Beijing.

Which brings the question— Why Namimori?

Because for the past five, nearly six years, Xi Meixiang has answered to the name Hibari Meiko.

The Hibari clan has protected Namimori land for generations. In fact, the original lord of the land during the Sengoku era  _was_  a Hibari. The legends say that he was a good lord. He cared for his people deeply and was very territorial of his land. He trained brigades of samurai, shinobi, and kunoichi solely for the purpose of protecting his town, and the Hibari name grew to instill fear into the hearts of the Lords of all the neighboring lands.

Nowadays, the Hibari are known to produce politicians, lawyers, soldiers, and law enforcement officers. The current clan head and Lord (now only a ceremonial title) happens to be Namimori PD's very own captain. Hibari Touya. Who just so happens to be the husband of Hibari Meiko. Who, upon adopting her husband's name and status, also swore to protect Namimori land.

And their child, Kyoya, is now the heir to both Touya's prestigious clan and title,  _and_  Meiko's underground empire.

When the squad visits the Hibari residence for the very first time, they're not sure where to focus their eyes. The property is classically Japanese with its sliding doors and wooden infrastructure, and beautiful in every way. On their way to the gardens to meet Meiko, they pass by a handful of koi ponds, several stone statues of men and women who Kazue can only assume are Hibari ancestors, and an abundance of peach trees.

It's a weird thing to say, but the air at the Hibari residence almost smells  _sweet_.

"Your house is extremely large!" Ryohei exclaims in absolute awe.

"You didn't tell us that you're  _rich_." Kensuke adds. He thought these types of homes only existed in period dramas and movies.

"I'm not rich." Kyoya grumbles, "My  _parents_  are."

"New money, old money, it's all the same. You'll own all of this eventually, right?"

Kyoya shrugs. He doesn't want to think about it. As far as he's concerned, his parents are the strongest carnivores he knows, and they're immortal.

"Kyoya, what do your parents do?" Kazue asks.

"The carnivores protect Namimori."

He pauses in his brisk pace when he feels Kazue's eyes burning holes through his back.

"Hahaue owns a private organization and Chichiue is the head of the Namimori Police."

Then he trudges right back on ahead.

"Your dad is a police officer?" Ryohei punches the air, "That is EXTREMELY manly!"

"My father is… _extremely_ ," Kyoya twitches when he uses the word, "powerful. He is the pride of the Hibari."

As the children approach a gazebo, they notice a handful of men wearing entirely black ensembles of traditional hakama and haori standing guard.

"Hahaue is waiting in there." Kyoya says, "Do not offend her. And do not," he shoots Ryohei a glare, "raise your voice. You'll alarm her men."

Ryohei nods aggressively. "I WILL NOT-" Kensuke slaps his shoulder and a Ryohei winces before trying again. "I'm not going to raise my voice."

Kyoya faces his comrades and makes eye contact with each of them before turning around and leading them into the gazebo.

Kazue isn't normally one to be particularly enamoured by the physical appearances of other people, but the Hibari matriarch can only be described as absolutely breathtaking. Even Ryohei and Kensuke are at a loss for words, and usually, they can never shut up.

Hibari Meiko sits patiently with her hands folded in her lap and a soft smile on her lips. Her facial features are extremely delicate, but her sharp silver eyes seem calculating as she scans her son's friends. Her long platinum hair is probably about waist length, and her bangs frame her face just as artistically as Kyoya's do. Her lips as well as her nails are painted a shocking shade of red that contrasts starkly against her light eyes, hair, skin, and white kimono. If it weren't for the long scar that mars her face from the start of her left eyebrow to the edge of the right side of her jaw, Meiko would look like a Goddess that had stepped right out of a Japanese folk tale.

Oh, who is she kidding.

Meiko straight up looks like a seasoned warrior princess.

Kazue bows  _low_ , giving the woman the respect she deserves. Kensuke and Ryohei follow suit.

"I am honored to be in your presence," Kazue says, just as her boys mumble their own greetings. Ryohei and Kensuke are a little more clumsy than Kazue is with their words, but Meiko doesn't seem to mind.

"Thank you for meeting me today." She says, "My Kyoya has told me a lot about you three. Please, all of you, come sit."

She gestures at the round table in front of her. A tea tray sits on top of the table and as the children situate themselves, Meiko pours them each a cup.

Another woman (her maid? She's wearing a bright yellow Japanese-European fusion styled maid uniform.) tries to take the pot away, but Meiko denies her service.

"I can pour tea for my own guests." Meiko says, and the other woman quietly steps back.

"Tell me about yourselves." Meiko already know everything that she wants to know about the kids, but she'll also take what she can get from them,

Kazue makes a mental note that the woman before her doesn't ask questions. She demands what she wants. Even sitting down, Meiko gives off an air full of confidence and power. "My name is Hibari Meiko. You may address me however you dare."

The children introduce themselves from left to right.

"My name is Sasagawa Ryohei! My dad is a professional MMA fighter and owns Extreme Boxing Club. My mom works from home! That way she can take care of my baby sister."

"Mochida Kensuke," he bows again, "My Pa runs a kendo dojo, and my Ma is a doctor. I'm an only child."

"And my name is Sawada Kazue. My father-" she hesitates, "-I suppose is a traveler, and my mother runs her own private organization."

The glint in Meiko's eyes tells Kazue that she recognizes the careful wording. She knows exactly who her parents are.

"I can see how Kyoya has taken a liking to you all." She smirks at Kazue, "Especially you."

Kyoya chokes on his tea and Kensuke slaps his hands over his face and turns away from her. His shoulders shake as he attempts to mask his laughter. Ryohei doesn't quite get it, but everyone else looks like they're having fun, so he laughs too.

Kazue blinks rapidly, "I...I…"

What even is the proper response to that?

"Oh, I mean no harm." Meiko chuckles fondly, "Your hair probably just reminds Kyoya of home."

Kazue runs her fingers through some of the strands that frame her face and the three boys study her.

"My hair?" She asks.

She doesn't think that the woman is  _wrong_ in her assumption, judging by the way Kyoya reacts by chugging his scalding hot tea. She just doesn't  _understand_.

"oh. OH,  _OH_." Ryohei inhales exaggeratedly and drums his hands on the table.

"YOUR HAIR," he whisper yells, "IT'S THE SAME COLOR AS PEACHES."

"Oh, I think I can see that." Kensuke agrees, "Not quite pink, and not quite yorange."

"Yorange is not a color." Kyoya says flatly with flushed cheeks. He's embarrassed, so he feels the need to pick a fight.

"Yellow-orange, rich boy." Kensuke teases, almost singing, "Get with the program."

"Did your parents never teach how you to properly speak, herbivore?"

"Eh? I don't get it. Isn't Kensuke speaking right now?!"

"Shut it," He changes target, " _you_ never learned how to speak either."

"KYOYA HOW DARE YOU, I'll have you know that I speak  _extremely_ el..elo...Kazue, what's that word again?"

"Eloquently?"

"YEAH, ELOKWAINTLY."

"Your tongue can't even form the word, useless animal."

"I'll uppercut you  _so hard_ that you won't be able to either." Ryohei almost instantaneously snaps back.

And for a moment, Kyoya is stunned. Quite frankly, they all are. Even Ryohei, because he slaps his hands on his cheeks and stares at the black haired boy in horror. Kyoya switches to target Kensuke again.

"What have you been  _teaching_ him?"

"Dude, I did  _not_ teach him that."

"The herbivore learned it from  _someone_."

Both dark haired boys turn to stare at the girl sandwiched between them. She calmly sips her tea.

"Have I  _ever_ made a threat so...so barbaric? Do you even know me?"

A delighted chortle interrupts the childrens' squabble. Kyoya snaps his jaw closed and looks away.

"You're all so  _adorable,_ " Meiko says, "And get along with my son so well. I don't think I've ever seen him so lively. He's a drifter, you know." Her eyes bore through Kazue's soul. "A cloud, if you will."

Kazue lowers her head slightly. A subtle agreement.

"Well, I hear that you're interested in continuing your studies in the art of wushu." Meiko changes the subject.

"Yes, I-"

"Reiko?" The woman interrupts, and from the shadows, a nearly identical woman appears with two polearms. Keiko only differs from Meiko in that her hair is short, only about chin length, and her face lacks Meiko's scar. She, like the other guards, also adorns a hakama and haori, except hers are colored a deep shade of red.

"Twins?" Kensuke inquires while Ryohei startles, "Woah!  _Where did she even come from?_ "

She bows deeply after handing Meiko the longer staff and placing the shorter on top of Kazue's open palms. "Yes," she says, "My name is Kurokawa Reiko." Both Kazue and Ryohei's eyes widen in recognition, "I thank you in advance for taking good care of my daughter. I do believe Sasagawa Kyoko and Sawada Tsunayoshi are her closest friends."

Reiko, previously known as Xi Renxiang, speaks just as formally and beautifully as her sister, just with a twinge of an accent.

"Now," Meiko snaps her fingers and two women appear, one adorning a dark green yukata and the other, a dark blue hakama; no haori. The woman in blue hands Kensuke a bokken, and the one in green drops a pair of small, clearly modified brass knuckles into Ryohei's waiting hands.

Meiko has prepared for this visit for a long time. She grins when Kyoya drops his special tonfas from the inside of his sleeves, and here, Kazue can see that not only did he inherit her pretty doll-like face, he got his stupidly sharp teeth from her as well.

"I'll only need this one hand to take you four on. It's my nondominant hand, by the way." The woman says as she tucks her right fist into her obi and twirls the pole with her left hand.

Kazue slips into an all too familiar stance. Seeing these other colorfully dressed women, it occurs to Kazue that the maid from earlier  _wasn't actually a maid_.

"What color are you, Meiko-sama?"

Each of her eyes gleam with a different color; one purple, the other violet, before they both flash red and return to their usual grey.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The woman mirrors the younger girl's stance, "I see your form isn't  _detestable._ "

Her chin is raised proudly, and Kazue can recognize it anywhere.

Kazue's eyes dart to the side. Kyoya has the same look.

"Come! I'll eat you alive!" The woman commands, and the four children break into action.

(They get their asses handed to them, but after the battle, Meiko happily takes them all under her wing.)

* * *

Kazue's seventh birthday is one that she'll remember for the rest of her life. For all of the wrong reasons. When Kazue opens the front door that morning to find Iemitsu and Timoteo standing before her, she already knows that something is wrong.

It's been nearly two years since Iemitsu was home last. The man hadn't even come home for Tsuna's sixth birthday. He sent a card and a wad of bills through the mail.

And Timoteo, she presumes, should have better things to do than visit  _her_.

Of course, Nana is ecstatic that her wayward husband has returned though, so she squeals and throws herself at the man. Kazue is disgusted.

When Iemitsu is finishes greeting his wife, he leans over places a fat, wet kiss on Kazue's forehead.

She immediately recoils. She doesn't know the man like that.

"Where's Tuna fish?" He asks, "I want to say hi!"

"It's four in the morning." She responds flatly. "He's asleep. We don't even wake up until nine, usually."

"Oh?" Iemitsu hums, "Then why are  _you_ up?"

"Couldn't sleep. My senses were tingling. Should've known that it was just you."

She doesn't mean to say it with so much animosity, but she can't help that she's cranky. No one wants to wake up at three in the morning on their birthday. It's even worse when the birthday person happens to only be six years old.

"Now, now~" The man laughs, "Is that any way to talk to your Papa?"

"I wouldn't know. My Papa is never home."

"Ouch! You got me right where it hurts." Iemitsu dramatically clutches at his heart. "Well, this is Grandpa Timoteo, he's Papa's boss."

"I know." Kazue shifts her weight to her right hip. "We've met. Mama's sat in many meetings at his residence."

"Oh, that's right." Iemitsu nods, "Actually, that's why we're here. We have news about your mother."

Kazue's entire attitude shifts immediately.

"Really?" She couldn't wipe the grin off her face if she tried, "Is she all better now? When is she coming to pick me up?"

"Now, now, child," Timoteo laughs. He masks his true feelings so well that even Kazue doesn't pick up on it. "You have a long day ahead of you. Why don't we talk about this after daycare?"

She chews on her bottom lip as she thinks about it.

"Okay, fine. I invited my friends over for my birthday, by the way."

The adults exchange a look. The back of Kazue's throat itches, but she ignores it.

"Well then," Iemitsu cheers, "You have fun with Grandpa Timoteo as a babysitter after school today. Mama and Papa are going to go on a trip!"

"What?" Kazue furrows her eyebrows. "You're not even going to stay for the party?"

"You're still young, Kazue! We'll have plenty of birthdays to celebrate together."

The itch in the back of her throat begins to  _hurt_.

"What kind of logic?" She sputters, "You know what? Whatever. I don't care. I'll be leaving you people soon enough."

She turns right around and marches to her bedroom for (hopefully) the last time.

* * *

The pain doesn't go away, even after she wakes up for the second time that morning. Thinking that she only has a major case of Sahara desert mouth, Kazue heads straight for the kitchen. A glass of water should help.

When she stumbles upon an angry, whispered conversation, she presses her back against the wall, and listens. Her entire body feels as if it were  _on fire_.

"... _can't tell...her….thday…"_

She moves closer to the entrance of the kitchen.

" _...have to...it's...niela…"_

They're talking about her mother. Why?

" _She doesn't...need...know…"_

What?

" _Dante...Cavallone heir…"_

Uncle Dante was declared heir?

" _Do you know...reason...death…?"_

Who died? It can't be...Nonno?

" _One of...guardians poisoned…"_

Who's guardians?

" _Daniela died instantaneously."_

Those words stab Kazue right in the heart and she inhales sharply. She clutches at her chest, eyes wide, and the way her forehead heats up when Iemitsu and Timoteo poke their heads out of the kitchen entrance to give her pitied, sorrowful glances tells her that she was neither supposed to know, nor find out the way she did.

"Tell me you're lying." She says with a clenched jaw. "Tell me it's not true. Tell me she's coming to pick me up."

Iemitsu kneels down to be at her eye level, but he says nothing. He only lays a hand on her head. As if his touch would offer her any kind of comfort. Her eyes well with tears.

"TELL ME!" She screams, and it reminds the two men that despite all her maturity, she is still only seven. She is only seven and she just found out that her mother was  _assassinated._

She struggles to speak through her tears. She's dry heaving, but she still forces herself to ask.

"Did-" she coughs, "-they find who did it?"

Iemitsu nods.

She swallows.

"Who?"

He struggles to speak. Frankly, the news is hard for him to take as well. She  _was_  his ex-partner in crime. They never loved each other, but their marriage was fun. He cared about her. Of course, he knows that his pain is nothing compared to that of his daughter's, but he doesn't know what else to do.

"Your Nonno's mist did it."

"Of course, he did," she cries, "those old men never liked Mama."

Iemitsu wraps his arms around her and presses her against his chest. He can't do anything but hold her. She struggles against him. Tries to push him away, but she's much too small. Much too weak. She doesn't want to be held by him. She doesn't know him like that.

"Perhaps she shouldn't go to daycare today." Timoteo comments.

"You're right." The younger sky agrees, "I'll call her in."

Kazue's seventh birthday is one that she'll remember for the rest of her life. For all of the wrong reasons. Everything that could go wrong, goes  _so wrong._

* * *

Her eyes are bloodshot when she answers the door. Her eyes water when she is hit with a wave of deja vu and she remembers answering the door for her father and his boss that morning.

Ryohei and Kensuke's identical grins drop immediately.

Kyoya shoves the two boys through the door and shuts the door behind him.

"Why are you crying?"

She shakes her head. If she speaks, she'll break the dam.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ryohei approaches her and places his forehead on her own. He does this with Kyoko whenever  _she's_  sad. Maybe it'll make Kazue feel better. "Don't cry, it's your birthday."

"My Mama," she gasps, "she's  _dead_."

Kensuke drops the bags of presents from his hands - one from him, one from Ryohei - and rushes toward her. He hugs her really, really tightly.

Kyoya stands awkwardly to the side. He's bad at dealing with matters of the...emotional essence.

Kensuke finds it odd that his own eyes are getting a bit misty, despite the fact that he's never even met the woman. Only heard stories.

"Well that's a horrible birthday present, isn't it?" He jokes wetly.

Kazue huffs a laugh. "Understatement." She says, and when Ryohei finally releases her head, she rubs furiously at her eyes.

"I'm not crying. I'm sweating with my eyeballs."

"Okay." Kensuke says softly, "Why don't you and Kyoya head to your room? Where's Tsu?"

"Outside with our babysitter. There's food out there, by the way. Welcome to the party."

"Uh." Kensuke recoils. She still set up a party in the backyard even with the tragic news? "Um, Ryohei and I are going to grab food, drinks, and Tsuna. Go to your room."

His eyes flicker to the black haired boy. Kyoya nods and his fingers pinch at one of her sleeves. He leads her to her room.

Kensuke and Ryohei enter the backyard to find Tsuna playing with the neighbor's dog, blissfully unaware of his sister's delicate emotional situation, and an old man sitting on a rocking chair on the back patio.

"HEY, TSU-CHAN!" Ryohei shouts, startling the five year old. He trips over the dog, and it yips at him. But it doesn't seem mad.

"Onii-chan!" Tsuna greets with a smile, "Is Kyoko here?"

Ryohei jogs over to the boy. Kensuke follows not too far behind.

"Nah, she's at home with Okaa." He grins before gesturing at himself with two thumbs, "But  _I'm_  here!"

"He can see that, idiot." Kensuke smacks Ryohei's back playfully, "Whatcha got there, Tsuna-fish?"

Tsuna pouts at the nickname but doesn't correct him. At this point, too many people call him that.

"Fuwa." He responds as he points at the dog. It appears to be a Pomeranian, so fluffy is a fitting name.

"FUWA IS EXTREMELY CUTE!" Ryohei screeches as he scratches the dog under its chin.

"Can you  _please_  stop yelling at it? You're going to scare it."

"Fuwa is a boy." Tsuna says.

"Please stop yelling at  _him_." Kensuke corrects.

"I'm not yelling  _at_  him! I'M JUST YELLING!"

The dog yips.

"He's a  _dog_ , he can't tell the difference." Kensuke hisses, "You're going to make him mad."

"I've been yelling this whole time and he hasn't gotten mad  _yet_!"

"That doesn't mean he won't!"

Fuwa growls at them both, and Kensuke points at him.

"Point."

"I didn't make him mad," Ryohei argues, "your extreme nagging did."

" _WHAT?!"_

The dog barks at Kensuke's rise in volume.

" _Now_  look who made him extremely mad." Ryohei laughs.

As the two older boys continue to bicker, Tsuna attempts to soothe the dog's annoyance. He pets Fuwa gently. "Shh, shhh. It's okay. They're not  _really_  mad, they're just playing."

Fuwa barks again.

Tsuna frowns. "No, don't do that."

The dog growls and makes a lunge for Tsuna's hand.

"Hey!" Kensuke grabs Tsuna just in time and pulls the younger boy toward him.

The dog bares its teeth and continues to stalk towards them menacingly.

"Uh, uh," Ryohei panics, "Down, boy?" He tries. "Sit? Stay? Please don't eat us?"

The dog lunges at them, and once again, they barely dodge it.

It continues to growl with bared teeth. Then lunges,  _again_.

Then freezes, mid jump, when Tsuna literally  _explodes_  and says, "Stop."

The boys turn and just stare at him.

"Woah. Is this extremely real?" Ryohei asks, pointing at the huge fire shooting out of Tsuna's hairline.

"Yes." Kensuke whispers in awe.

There's a clatter, and the old man on the rocking chair rushes toward them with  _his finger on fire_.

"I apologize, children, but I'm going to have to make you forget this now." The old man says, and Tsuna explodes  _again_  with fearful eyes.

"No!" He says, "Don't make them forget!"

Kensuke and Ryohei don't even exchange words before they both make a run for the house.

When the Sawada residence is suddenly enveloped with warmth, Kazue about gives herself whiplash when she snaps her neck to look out the closest window. Beside her, Kyoya tenses. "Did you feel that?" He asks.

He's never felt anything like it. Not from anyone but his mother.

"Of course, I felt it." Kazue frowns, "Not sure what it is though. What  _else_ could possibly go wrong today?"

As if on cue, Ryohei and Kensuke run into her room, panic in their eyes.

A protective streak surges through Kazue's veins. "What happened?"

"It's Tsuna," Kensuke gasps, "In the backyard. We were playing with a dog and it suddenly got aggressive...and then Tsuna..."

She stands up.

"What happened to Tsuna?"

Kensuke hesitates.

"He burst into flames-" Ryohei says, uncharacteristically seriously. He's so very confused, but his concern for his friend's sibling is stronger. "-and then the dog stopped."

Kyoya and Kazue exchange brief looks of horror. They've only ever seen one person spontaneously burst into flames before, and that person is Kyoya's father, who wraps himself in storm flames as if they were a blanket.

The group of four run down the stairs, through the house, and out the back door as quickly as their tiny legs can take them. A few seconds feel like forever when the scene before her begins to unfold.

"What are you doing?" Kazue asks.

"Ka-nee! I'm scared!" The boy cries, and Kazue feels hot anger pour over her.

Timoteo kneels before Tsuna, holding a flaming finger by his forehead. A small ring of fire encircles them both. Kazue looks at her brother and notices the tears streaming down his cheeks. She looks at the fire and then back to his tears, and then she remembers the horrible, horrible news that Timoteo came to deliver to her that morning. As they fill with angry tears, her honey colored eyes flicker with  _literal_  sparks. The old man lets out a surprised gasp, and the flame on his finger dies.

_Of course_ , Iemitsu somehow managed to produce not just one, but  _two_  children with hyper dying wills. And from what he's seen thus far, these children have the potential to become  _strong_. Iemitsu has no intention of involving his children with the underworld, however, and Timoteo respects that. So again, he lights the tip of his finger with flames of his own. He'll just have to seal them both.

"It won't hurt him." Timoteo placates, "Don't worry."

"What won't hurt?' Tsuna asks, "Ka-nee, what's happening? Nonno Timo feels cold!"

Her throat tickles. She recognizes the lie, too. Is that all this man ever does? Lie? Do all the adults in her life only know how to lie? She steps forward, and her boys stand in front of her protectively, despite the fear, confusion, and worry evident on their faces.

"That's not what she asked." Kyoya says.

Her eyes begin to glow. "What are you doing? Don't make me ask again."

"This power will only do him more harm than good. If I leave him unchecked, he'll have a target on his back. You have to understand."

"That power is a  _part_  of him!" She shouts.

"You...You still haven't answered the question." Kensuke growls, and Timoteo holds his hands in front of him as if to signify 'calm-down.'

It doesn't help. His finger is still on fire.

"I'll protect him." Kazue says and pushes herself between Kyoya and Kensuke. "That power is  _his_. It's up to him to decide whether or not he gets to keep it."

Timoteo looks at her sadly. She reminds him so much of his first son. So fierce. So loyal. But ultimately, that lead to his downfall. Timoteo has to seal the children before they're dragged into a world of darkness. Before there's no return.

"You don't understand,  _I'm trying_  to  _protect_  him. Dangerous people will want his power."

"And I said that I'll protect him!" Kazue snaps, "Are you going to try to take away mine too?"

"Honestly, I just might. It won't take very much effort." The old man warns, "How are you going to protect him? Or yourself? You're only a child."

"She has us," Ryohei says at the same time Kazue cries, "I'm so tired of all of you old men telling me what to do, telling my mother what to do."

She continues, "Mama spent her entire life listening to people like you. But now she's  _dead_ , and it was an old man  _like you_ who killed her."

Kazue cries tears of gold. They emit heat, but they don't burn. The sight of them only makes Kyoya angrier.

" _We_  can protect the bunny." He says. "The four of us will. And I can enlist my family's help."

"Step away from Tsuna, old man." Kensuke warns, "We won't play nice for much longer."

Timoteo's eyes widen as the boys shielding Kazue from him begin to emit auras of their own. They don't even realize that they're doing it. They're not quite yet emitting flames, but they're getting close, and if Timoteo doesn't shut this down  _now_ , the explosion of energy that these children may emit would be strong enough to attract the attention of half the city.

The flame on his finger dissipates.

Timoteo stands, and he has to wonder what his life has come to when he looks around and sees five crying children.

"I won't seal him." He says reluctantly, "But only on one condition."

Kazue squares her body and attempts to make herself look bigger.

"You and your guardians...you must become strong enough to protect him. Tsuna will grow up to have the largest target on his back in all of the underworld."

Kazue's eyes flicker rapidly for a few seconds. Her vibe detector finds no lies.

When her eyes become the sweet color of honey once more, she responds,

"I'll do anything to protect my family."

She falls to her knees in exhaustion, but she opens her arms. Tsuna runs towards her and she holds him tightly as he cries.

"You can leave now, old man. You've done enough damage today. We don't need a babysitter."

"Your mother would have been proud." He says sadly as he makes his exit.

It takes everything in her power to not throw herself at him and curse him for even mentioning her. He doesn't deserve to have known her.

She can't help but wonder, as Tsuna sobs into her shirt, what would have happened if she hadn't been there? If she weren't strong enough to protect him?

Mama told her once, that in the rare cases where people lost their flames, they also lost their wills to live. They became clumsy, dull, and lifeless. Useless.

If she hadn't stepped in, would Tsuna have lived a life, basically crippled, with no way of knowing why?

* * *

When Iemitsu reenters Namimori territory the next morning with Nana hanging off his arm, a very  _angry_ , very  _livid_  Hibari Meiko grabs him by the collar of is shirt. Nana slides right off of his arm, as if he were made of butter, and he looks up to see Reiko standing not too far behind Meiko, eyes glowing violet.

He lights his fists on fire, only for Meiko to do the same. One hand, she has coated in purple flames, the other, red.

The Xi twins have always been notorious for their strength. For some odd reason, the heavens decided to bless them and granted them three attributes each. Cloud. Storm. And Mist.

It's a shame, though, that Meiko isn't a sky.

She would have made a terrifying one.

"Don't worry," Meiko says as she pushes him against the harsh brick of the large border walls that separate Namimori off from the rest of Japan. "She's only fallen asleep. You should be more concerned about  _me_." She hisses.

"Why, hello there, Meixiang!" Iemitsu greets with a grin, "To what do I owe this lovely visit? Oh," he narrows his eyes at her, "or should I call you by your civilian name. Meiko?"

She briefly lifts him off of the wall before slamming him back against it, thrice as hard as before. "I don't care what you  _call_ me. Just don't mess with me." Meiko growls.

"I wasn't aware that I  _was_  messing with you."

"Oh, never mind then." Meiko releases her hold on the man before smoothing out the wrinkles in her kimono. "Are you kidding me?" She punches a small crater into the wall, beside his head, "Is that what you thought I'd say? Are you at least aware that both of your children are  _flame active_ and that you actually need to teach them a thing or two?"

Iemitsu furrows his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?"

"What, your boss didn't tell you? He sure left in a hurry the other night. I sent Reiko to check on the kids, and they were scared shitless."

"Congrats, by the way." Iemitsu looks over Meiko's shoulder to see Reiko in a deep bow. "They are both skies, and they both inherited your  _unique_  attributes."

"They both have  _hyper_  dying will?" He asks.

"Yes," Reiko responds, "And your boss tried to seal them both. Do you know how detrimental that would have been? Not only would it have weakened their immune systems, but also slowed their growth, and cognitive abilities. You're lucky Kazue scared him off."

"Kazue did?" He gapes, "But she's such a mild mannered girl!"

Meiko scoffs.

"You really know nothing. Kazue dislikes you and Tsunayoshi is terrified of you. I thought Vongola skies were supposed to be  _good_  at reading things."

Iemitsu pushes the woman's arm away from him before he leans down and gently picks his wife up from the ground. "Excuse me, Meixiang, Renxiang. I need to go see my kids."

"Please, get to it. You've only missed out on seven years. You might have a relationship with them by the time they're around 15 if you try hard enough."

Iemitsu flinches. The quip is  _scathing_  and Meiko knows it.

"I heard the news about our dear friend, Daniela." She says, "My condolences. Without her, I never would have come here to scout  _you_ , and I would have never met Touya. I've always been grateful to her, for allowing me to meet my husband."

Iemitsu begins to walk away.

"Which is why I believe I owe it to her and her daughter. I'm taking Kazue for the summer." She pauses, "Well, Uncle Fon will be. She doesn't want to see you. But  _Tsuna_  needs you."

* * *

"We're getting trained by a baby?" Kensuke pokes one of the baby's chubby cheeks. He's an only child, so this is really the first time he's seen an infant up close.

"I'm older than you may think." The baby responds with a charming smile. "In fact, I happen to be Kyoya's great uncle."

Kensuke looks between Fon and Kyoya and just starts laughing.

"Man, the genes in your family must be really strong. You guys look exactly alike!"

"Well, being family tends to do that to you."

Kensuke apparently thinks that genetics are the most hilarious thing thing for a while, because before they know it, he's rolling around the grass laughing.

"Well," Fon decides to ignore him, "Is it just the three of you, then?"

Kyoya grunts.

"I thought there was a fourth."

"Ryohei has to stay behind to help out his family." Kazue explains, "He promises to slack off, though. So he can keep up with us."

"Well," Fon rubs his chin in thought, "I don't believe my teaching methods would have been beneficial for him anyway. I'll call in a favor."

"A favor?" She asks.

"Yes, a colleague of mine owes me a favor. He can come here to train your friend while we're gone."

* * *

**Note** :  _So much happened in this chapter_. *wipes sweat* And from now on, the plot will only continue to thicken!

Also, yes! Kyoya only exists because of Daniela. I wanted to fit that into this chapter somehow, but couldn't find an appropriate place. I might start a collection of side stories in the future since there are some other little side stories that I'd like to share as well.

Before Daniela and Iemitsu got married, Daniela hired the Xi twins for a mission. Renxiang was already familiar with Papa Kurokawa, since she was a foreign exchange student in high school, and was in his graduating class.

Meixiang had never been to Japan before.

The twins were eventually arrested by Touya for "disturbing the peace." Apparently, some Hibari patrolmen noticed the twins snooping around. At first, they didn't do anything because the twins weren't hurting anyone, but Touya also knew that anyone who was watching Iemitsu was likely affiliated somehow with the underground, and Touya had been having some issues with yakuza.

Coincidentally, a local yakuza group also happened to be affiliated with the triad group that the Xi Twins hailed from.

Touya wanted to know all about the Momokyokai. At first, Meixiang was very resistant. But then, after four straight days of interrogation, she decided that she was in love with him. Or was it Stockholm syndrome? Who knows, they're happy  _now_.

Meixiang said that she couldn't tell him any Momokyokai secrets, but if they were disturbing his peace, she could take care of them for him.

So he let the twins go.

And like any sane woman would, Meixiang went and ripped the Momokyokai boss's throat out with her teeth, and Touya, extremely touched that any woman would do that for him, decided that he wanted to marry her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4** : The Concept of Tenacity

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

 **Note** : Please review!

* * *

"Tsuna, I need to tell you something."

The boy looks up from his manga and levels his father with a relatively mature look. Something changed in him after that day. He feels a lot calmer. He feels older. For the past few days, he's noticed that he picks things up quicker. His brain  _understands_ better. He likes it. He's been waiting for this conversation for days, ever since his sister left for her trip. He knows that it has to do with their newfound powers.

After a moment of silence—

"About those flames that you and Kazue have," Iemitsu lights up his hand and holds it up in front of his face as he approaches the boy, "I have them too. They run in the family."

The man sits down and crosses his legs in front of him after dispersing the flames. "We have a very large family, but members can only be introduced to each other after they've activated the flames. That's why you and Mama couldn't meet them for a while, and Mama still can't."

Tsuna notices the missing name.

"But nee-san knows our family."

He's not surprised. His sister, while she's never lied to him, seems to always be hiding  _something_. But his heart is calm around her. He knows that she'd have told him whatever he wanted to know if he had simply  _asked_. She's that kind of person.

Iemitsu shrugs. "She knows  _of_ them. Her mother isn't related to us, but her mother's family runs things the same way. Kazue knows her family, but not my side."

Tsuna nods in understanding. "And that's why you're never home? Because Mama and I couldn't meet your family? Because we didn't have the fire?"

"Right," Iemitsu affirms, "but I'm home right now, so I can teach you about your fire."

Tsuna is a little hesitant at first, but then it registers that Iemitsu's feeling is a lot less cold than usual.

For now, he can trust him. But he cannot forgive him. He can't forgive him for all the  _lies,_ or loneliness, or for the way Mama looks at him when she thinks he doesn't notice. Sad. Regretful. It's obvious that she knows that Iemitsu only runs off all the time because of his existence. Mama loves him because he is an extension of his father, not because she actually loves him.

But she is still his mother, nonetheless.

Tsuna closes his manga book and slides it away from him. "Can anyone use the flames, or only blood relatives?"

"Everyone has them." Iemitsu says, "but not everyone can use them the same. Most people can only call them out when they have a special type of metal to conduct them with. One can only make the flames  _appear_  like I can if they're really, really strong."

It's hard to separate the man sitting before him from his usual goofy persona.

"So you're strong?" Tsuna asks.

"That's why I'm gone all the time. Because I'm strong and important."

Tsuna looks down at his hands. "And me? Will I become strong and important one day?"

"You might, you might not. Why?" Iemitsu doubts it. Ninth has four sons, and he has Kazue. Although, because she is as much Cavallone as she is Vongola, Kazue probably couldn't take over the main house even if she wanted to. Too many political issues. She'd probably be more suited for Varia or CEDEF. He'd have to talk to her about it later.

Tsuna clenches his fists. "Nonno told nee-san that I would eventually become the biggest target in the underworld. What does that mean?"

Iemitsu clicks his tongue. Why'd the old man have to go and say that? Tsuna is to be raised far, far away from mafia if he can help it. Kazue is a lost cause at this point because she was raised by mafia and she's already gone and collected guardians, but Tsuna is still Iemitsu's secret to hide away and protect. Whatever he teaches Tsuna will only be for self defense. "Tsuna, daddy's blood is very important, okay? Which means that you and Kazue are too, because you have it."

Tsuna's eyes widen. He doesn't want to be a target when he's older, but now he doesn't have a choice, does he? He can't just get rid of his blood!

"Not only that, but your flames are orange. That means that you're a sky, and skies are very, very rare. Young skies have to be protected because they're very susceptible to kidnapping."

Tsuna blinks. "Why?"

Iemitsu frowns. "Because unlike what many people think, flame types can be predicted before children are even born. A lot of people think that flame types are random— a lottery of sorts. That's not true. Many bloodlines have a commonly predisposed flame type."

"What does that mean?"

"Every single first born son that has descended from our ancestors has had sky flames. Other children too, your sister, for example; but  _always_  the first sons. Your Mama's family may not have  _activated_ flames, but her grandfather and a few grandfathers before  _him_  were also skies. Daniela, Kazue's Mama, was the only person in her family for the last four generations who wasn't a sky. Kazue's grandfather is a sky, along with all of her uncles."

Tsuna's face becomes paler at the implications. It kind of sounds like Iemitsu is implying that skies are often kidnapped to be  _bred_ and  _manipulated_.

"And why is our blood so special?" He doesn't think he wants to know, but he  _needs_  to.

"Because our flames are special. They're called  _hyper dying will_ flames. Our flames become more potent, but the fire itself behaves calmer. Our brains become extremely focused, but our bodies will no longer require as much air. We earn the ability to be able to excrete the flames from anywhere in our body.  _Anywhere_. For most people, it's only their hands. And lastly, we become so aware and sensitive of our surroundings that we can hear and see  _all_. Yes, your hearing and vision is improved, but hyper dying will also grants you the ability to see things that aren't really there. Like lies."

"I can see lies."

He says it flatly. It's a statement, not a question.

Iemitsu furrows his brows in confusion. "Yes, as I just told you-"

"No, dad.  _I can see lies_. I've always been able to see them. So can nee-san."

The older man's heart pounds, and he's suddenly very hyper aware of all the  _noise_ in this house. It's loud,  _so loud_.

So does that mean-

"You've  _always_ been able to?"

Does that mean that his children have known all along?

"That's why I was so scared of you." Tsuna shrugs, "You always felt so cold. But now I can understand why you were lying."

Tsuna is  _six_. How could Iemitsu ever forget just how young his children are?

"You can?" Iemitsu asks hopefully. He never intended for things to get this bad. He  _does_ want to eventually build a relationship with his son, and Meixiang really beat it into him that now is the time to start. Before it's too late. Even if he still doesn't think that he's ready.

"Sure, but I don't  _like_  liars."

Doesn't matter what their reasons for lying are.

Iemitsu falters.

"Dad," Tsuna meets the man's gaze, "Will you make it up to me by teaching me how to use my flames?"

Iemitsu chews on the inside of his cheek as he thinks it over.

"Why do you want to learn?"'

"Because I can't let nee-san protect me all the time."

* * *

A  _baby_  enters the gym. Ryohei's father is out running errands and the gym is closed for a 'lunch break' until the owner returns. The baby is decked head to toe in bright yellow boxing gear.

Ryohei's jaw drops and he looks around in bewilderment. Is he getting  _punked_  right now?

"Hey, kid!" Ryohei uses his special big brother voice that's usually reserved only for Kyoko, "Are you lost?"

The kid looks up at him with a smirk that he  _knows_ doesn't belong on a child.

"No." The child chirps before walking towards the ring. He turns back to stare at Ryohei speculatively.

Ryohei can't help but feel slightly intimidated by the toddler's eyes, but he grins anyway. "Are you here to learn how to box? Sorry, but the gym's closed right now."

"I'll just cut to the chase." The baby hops up onto the mats and ducks under the ropes of the ring. He stands in the middle and points a finger at the boy. "Do you want to get stronger?"'

Ryohei laughs. This kid is creeping him out, but he'll play along. Ryohei is normally  _extremely_ loud and brash, but that's only because he chooses to be. It is not due to a lack of intelligence. True, he is the least coordinated of the four, but if he were really unintelligent, Kazue, Kyoya, and Kensuke wouldn't keep him around.

"I sure do," Ryohei slides under the ropes with practiced ease, "my best friends are actually on a training trip right now. I wish I could go, but I can't."

The baby circles around the boy and lightly punches him here and there with a gloved fist. Ryohei's a little bewildered, but he doesn't say a thing.

"Well, you're looking pretty good for a brat." The baby says. Ryohei's looking  _far better_  than  _pretty good_ , but he isn't about to reveal that to the boxer. Physically, Ryohei's in the tippest, toppest condition. But mentally? Probably not.

The kid  _has_  to know that human bodies have limits, yet he trains like a grown man every day. It'll eventually stunt his growth when he's older if nobody puts a stop to it. With the way Ryohei trains, he should be feeling sore muscles, fatigue, and probably even dehydration near constantly.

But he supplements all of that by unconsciously using his sun flames. Somewhat like how a certain purple haired motorcyclist does with his cloud flames. He is  _perpetually_ feeding his body flames.

"Aren't I older than you?"

The baby punches Ryohei with about eighth-five times the strength most would peg a normal infant to have. He flies across the ring with the air knocked out of him.

"Woah," he wheezes, "that was  _extreme._ What was that for?!"

"My age is of no concern to you. I am Reborn."

"You've been reincarnated?"

The baby exhales slowly out of his nose.

"My colleague is training your friends, and he tells me that you wish not to be left behind."

Ryohei sits up and winces when he notices a bruise already forming on his abdomen. "I'm starting to extremely think that you're extremely not a kid!"

Reborn twitches.

"Of course I extremely want to get stronger," Ryohei declares, "but I don't know where to start."

"We can spar and talk. I need to know where your abilities are, anyway."

Ryohei stands and strips himself of his shirt. Reborn tosses a pair of gloves at him. "Are you sure?" He asks, "You're kind of small."

"Do I need to punch you again? I just told you that I a _m not_ a baby."

"You're right," Ryohei huffs, "A baby wouldn't know so many big words."

"Are you kidding me?" Said baby deadpans.

"I'm  _extremely_  joking," Ryohei brings his arms up to guard his face. He does his usual boxer's hop and watches Reborn closely so that he'll know where to take his footwork from there.

"Well, I suppose the first lesson I'll give you is that not all of the enemies you'll encounter in the future will be boxers. There are no rules in a fight."

Ryohei barely even registers  _movement_  before Reborn sends a literal flying kick to his side.

"You protect your face, but what about everything else? When we spar, we are not  _boxing_. I am making you stronger."

Ryohei gets up as soon as he falls. All of the muscles in his body tenses in anticipation of the next hit. He won't go down so easily this time.

Or so he thinks.

Ryohei is forced to take a knee when he gets kicked  _behind the knee_.

"Second, you have tunnel vision. Being one track minded will not help you in a fight." The baby adds a running start to his uppercut and Ryohei is pretty sure he bites his own tongue  _(is that blood he's tasting?)_ when he is once again sent flying across the ring.

The spar, if you can even call it that, lasted only about ten seconds.

"Well," Ryohei turns when he hears footsteps approaching. The baby takes a seat right next to his head. "Don't feel too bad, there's a lot to work on. By the time I'm done with you, you could probably last a whole minute and a half with me."

Ryohei grunts. If it didn't hurt to laugh, he'd probably do it. He feels like such a Kyoya right now with all the grunting.

"I'm going to tell you about flames now." The baby says, "And then we're going to take a nice and long nap, and  _then_  I'm going to teach you  _how to turn your flames off_."

* * *

"Something is brewing." Meiko says as she chews on her sashimi, "I thought I'd at least warn you. I owe you  _that_  much."

Tsuyoshi remains silent as he slices the fish with practiced ease. He's aged. He looks older than she remembers. Of course, she's kept tabs on him the past few years, but she'd never imagined that she'd ever see him like this. Peaceful. Serene. Content.

Civilian life has been good for him. Mari has humbled him. Takeshi has mellowed him.

(In another life, Meiko doesn't bother to warn Tsuyoshi of anything. Neither Kyoya nor her dear friend's Takeshi ever befriended  _any_  Sawada child, and the awakening of the young sky meant nothing to Meiko. The stirring of the underworld didn't affect her.)

"Meixiang, I retired from that line of work when I married Mari. I don't worry myself over such trivial matters anymore."

She inclines her head in acknowledgment. However. "After Timoteo's stunt with Iemitsu's kids, Namimori has been placed back on the radar. Your enemies will not care that you're retired. They'll come for you."

(Namimori being back on the radar simply meant more  _prey_. Meiko was beginning to become bored with the quietness of her little town— the very same silence that she thought she'd grown accustomed to. She was so excited to hunt, she never paused to consider who her own prey were hunting. She merely assumed that they were all after the Sawada boy. She was wrong.)

Tsuyoshi smiles warmly at his previous employer as he places another serving of sashimi in front of her. "I'll let Mari know, but we won't worry about it until we get there."

(Mari  _died_. Nobody warned him that his old enemies would return for him. Nobody warned him that his past sins would come back to haunt him. He was foolish to believe that one could simply  _retire_ from being an assassin.)

She continues to enjoy her meal as he works. A comfortable silence falls between them.

( _Mari paid the price_.)

"It's not my business what you tell him regarding your previous occupation, but I think it would be in your best interest to teach Takeshi your art."

("Dad, I want to learn baseball!")

Tsuyoshi chuckles, amused.

"We are not Hibari, we don't need to train our children so young."

(Takeshi became a star athlete, and Tsuyoshi was so, so proud. Takeshi had the instincts of a survivalist, and whenever he went up to bat, he had the same hardened eyes that Tsuyoshi was used to seeing in the mirror.)

"Ah, but," she swallows, "you might have to since he's already halfway bonded with the younger Sawada sibling."

Tsuyoshi stills.

"If he's anything like you, I know that he'll one day make an incredible assassin."

Her words are intended to be comforting. They aren't.

He resumes in his slicing.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

(He was afraid then, too.

However, this time, somebody warned him.)

* * *

Hana can't feel her toes anymore. Her knees hurt, and her feet are becoming numb. Seiza position  _sucks_. Her eyes dart to the right and she makes eye contact with Kyoko who is undoubtedly just as uncomfortable as she is. Kyoko's just better at hiding it. The girl is  _literally_ (well, it's an illusion, not that either of them realize it) emitting sparkles.

They've been frozen in seiza position for  _hours_. The dojo is  _hot_ , their kimono are  _hot_ (curse Aunt Meiko for the Momokyokai's strict traditional clothing dress code), and  _they can't feel their toes_.

Reiko disguised their torture as  _training_ , but Hana knows better. Her mother is a filthy sadist.

Kyoko is about to flop over and give up when Reiko slides the entrance to the room open and approaches the girls, two black cases in hand. A maid slides the door shut behind her.

"I warned you to drink lots of water before today, didn't I?" The woman asks.

Hana scrunches her nose in distaste. She hates water. It tastes like  _nothing_.

Reiko pats each of their heads as she walks between the two girls. After passing them, she turns to face them and kneels before them.

"What are those, Auntie Reiko?" Kyoko asks, stretching her legs out in front of her.

"See for yourselves." Reiko places a case in front of each girl.

Hana takes her time, also stretching her legs out, before pulling the case's handle and dragging the item into her lap. Kyoko crawls toward hers.

Hana pokes at the case curiously, and it opens with a click. She gasps when she is presented with a sansun-zume yum, the smallest size of the traditional Japanese bow. Her fingers trace the length of the bow. It looks almost exactly like her mother's. It's beautiful.

A whispered "woah," snaps Hana out from her daze, and she looks over at Kyoko's own discovery. Kyoko reaches into her case, and within each hand, she beholds twin tessen— weighty Japanese war fans made of heavy metals; designed to look innocent whilst also able to defend against swords and knives alike.

"Mother, are these for us?"

The woman raises an eyebrow.

"Who else would they be for? Those are much too small for  _me_."

Kyoko squeaks excitedly as she flicks her fans open and closed, over and over again. "These are so beautiful! Thank you so much, Auntie!"

"Of course," the woman replies, "they're rewards for passing your first lesson."

"We had a lesson?" Hana asks.

Reiko motions at her knees with her hands. She's been in seiza pretty much since she entered the room. "I taught you patience today. Tenacity. The Hibari train their children to strike first and think later, and that works for  _them_. Your cousin is a nightmare."

Hana snorts, and Kyoko hides her smile behind a fan.

"But we are not Hibari. I am going to train you as your Aunt Meiko and I were. Patience is the key to winning any battle. And the two of you showed a lot of patience today." She smiles proudly, "I know it must have hurt."

"But why are we learning how to fight?" Hana asks. Whenever they had asked to be trained before, they were brushed off as being too young.

Reiko holds up a hand.

"It'll probably take you about," she hums in thought, "ten years before you can do this but-" three of her fingers (ring, middle, index) light on fire. They each burn a different color (purple, red, violet.)

"It just so happens that the two of you have the capabilities of also burning purple," she glances at Hana, "or violet." Her gaze lands on Kyoko. "Since I can do both, I've decided to teach you both."

That, and the fact that Meiko found out that morning that the two of them had half-formed bonds with Tsunayoshi. The two of them, along with Takeshi, had begun forming bonds while they were all latent. With the fact that Tsunayoshi had awakened his flames only days prior, it is only a matter of time before his sky flames will coax the rest of them out of latency.

Reiko needs to prepare them before that happens.

"Well, neither of you will be learning how to do this for a very, very long time. I'll have to get you strong enough first."

"I can be strong?" Kyoko asks.

"Of course," Reiko nods, "especially if I am to be your teacher."

"I won't have to depend on big brother to protect me anymore?" She asks with determination.

Reiko smirks. "You can protect each other, and there's nothing wrong with that. You're family after all."

Hana snaps her case shut.

"Now I know that we won't be training with weapons right away." She knows how this works. Basics and kata first, then fun stuff. "So when do we begin?"

Reiko smiles sharply and simply stares at the girls. Neither break eye contact.

Eventually Reiko finds what she's looking for, and Hana realizes that she must have been testing their patience again.

"How about now?" Her mother asks.

* * *

"Shifuuuuu," a voice whines, "Shifuuuuu, how much longer will it take?"

Fon had decided that while they train under his tutelage, the children were to learn to speak in Mandarin. Kyoya already has a keen grasp on the language, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, Kazue and Kensuke were each gifted a Mandarin-Japanese dictionary and are expected to figure things out as they travel.

Which results in a pretty hilarious mix of JapChinGlish whenever they lack the vocabulary to express what it really is that they want.

Kensuke and Kazue have taken to addressing Fon as Shifu— "master" in Mandarin. Kyoya somehow manages to converse with his uncle by way of animalistic grunts and the occasional "carnivore."

"We are almost there," Fon replies passively as the group continues their way up the seemingly endless stone steps. If Fon were any lesser man (if he were any lesser  _storm_ ), he'd have lost his temper with the boy by now.

But, well. Children will be children. They will learn patience in time. Plus, Fon's days of relentless, perpetual anger are long over. The curse has worn him out.

"Where are we, anyway?" Kazue asks in Japanese.

He sends her a sharp look and the one she sends back can only remind him of a kicked puppy.

"Shifu, where are we?" She tries again in Mandarin.

"A forest." He responds, and laughs when a multitude of emotions flash across her face.

First is annoyance, then a bit of anger, then annoyance again, to resignation, and then finally, amusement.

Yes, Kazue is far too polite to lose her temper with him. As much as he loves ruffling his dear nephew's feathers (he reminds him of himself, afterall!), Kazue is his favorite by far. She is the most compatible with his current personality. Kensuke, on the other hand, is  _very_  vocal about his opinions, warranted or otherwise— which can be quite entertaining if a bit annoying.

"I meant," she squints at him before tugging on Kyoya's sleeve, "how do you say 'geographically?'" She asks.

Kyoya's brain takes a moment to translate between the two languages.

"Dìlǐ."

She repeats the word once under her breath before asking again, "Shifu, I mean to ask where we are geographically."

"Somewhere between China and Russia." Fon supplies. Yes, he does sometimes do some dealing with the Russian Bratva. They've been a longtime supporter of the Momokyokai.

She nods once. "Makes sense."

"Shifu," Kensuke pants, "I'm about to-" he flails his arms as he searches for the correct terminology in Mandarin, "I," he makes a motion across his throat, "I DIE."

Fon resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"You will not  _die_ , we are almost there."

"Almost  _where?!"_ The boy wails, "We've been at it for hours!"

"It's been  _one_  hour." Fon chirps, "How can you be dying, already?"

"I feel like my calves are about to tear themselves off of my body and escape."

Kazue skips up the steps with a soft giggle, "That is a good question, though. Where are we going?"

Silly children, Fon tuts. Do they not realize that if they would just  _calm down_ , all of their questions would be answered in no time? Come on kids, whatever happened to analysis and context clues?

"We're going to the carnivore's home." Kyoya informs.

"Home?" Kansuke clutches at his chest in bewilderment, "How do you even live like this?!"

"Kensuke, hush," Kazue points at some flat land not too far ahead, "we  _are_ actually almost there."

"Shifu,  _your house is a temple?!_ "

* * *

On day eight, after a week of non-stop cardio and conditioning, Fon finally splits the three children up to learn at their own paces.

He starts with Kensuke, who trains with the straw dummies behind the temple. Fon has never been a weapons expert; that role probably belongs to his yellow fedora wearing friend.

Kensuke will need a proper teacher in the future, but for now, this is enough.

He learns to flip, strike, feint, and dodge. He learns to use a sword not as a weapon, but as an extension of himself.

Together, they learn that kendo has never been the most suitable art form for  _him_. Kendo is fun, but it's too honest and straightforward. When left to use his own style, he tends to strike both quickly,  _and low_. And just when one might believe they've got him cornered, he'll snap back and fall into the shadows.

When he fights, he dances and plays.

Kensuke slithers like a serpent. ( _He's slippery, like an eel_.)

He learns rather quickly how to summon his flames. He takes to it like a bird in flight ( _or_   _fish underwater_ ). Fon gifts him a sword made of a very special metal, and bright blue easily coats the blade.

Fon cannot teach Kensuke how to best utilize his blue. At least with cloud, storm, and sometimes sky, many of the attributes are similar. But rain is the polar opposite of his very nature.

Kensuke doesn't mind. He's not in any rush to learn how to fight with flames, he's happy to know that he can even  _do it_.

Kyoya, unlike Kensuke, cannot find it in himself to hide in the shadows. Kyoya doesn't  _think_ ; he doesn't  _calculate_. Everything is purely instinctual.

Full frontal assaults only.

Despite his brutal style, however, Kyoya moves with a certain grace that only a Hibari could have. He doesn't ever think before he strikes, but he never wastes a single movement. When he gets in the zone, he doesn't hesitate to pounce if he sees an opening, and he doesn't stop until he is sure that he has indisputably beaten his opponent.

No matter how many times Fon beats his nephew into the ground, the boy stands right back up and readies himself again. It's actually quite fun- for the both of them.

Kyoya is somehow under the impression that he doesn't deserve to learn how to wield flames until he can beat Fon in a physical fight with his bare fists (well, tonfas). Fon scoffs at that— Kyoya will not be able to beat him for another hundred years at  _least_. He'll have to cave eventually. But that's a problem for another time.

When Fon grows bored of sparring with Kyoya, or when he needs to check on the other two children, he sets Lychee loose for a game of hide 'n seek - tag in the forests with Kyoya. The games train Kyoya's stealth, dexterity, flexibility, and speed.

It's also a good time for Lychee. The monkey doesn't get very many friends to play with.

Now, Kazue is a monster in her own right. Fon can recognize his niece's style anywhere, but Meixiang's wushu is  _nothing_ compared to his own. He beats his niece's habits out of Kazue with a  _stick (_ a  _bo_   _staff_ ), before breaking her down and building her back up again.

While Kyoya gets by with pure instinct, and Kensuke learns at a prodigal level, Kazue keeps up with hard work. If he tells her to do fifty push-ups, she'll do one hundred. If he tells her to kick a hundred times, she'll kick two hundred times. If he tells her to practice her taolu (her  _kata_ ) until her muscles are sore, she'll practice until she falls over.

She does not move with fluidity like Kensuke, nor are her forms as beautiful as Kyoya's. No, she moves with a certain  _aggression_ , a certain  _passion_. She's a perfect mix between Kyoya's straightforwardness and Kensuke's slipperiness.

Fon can hear the whistling of her twirling polearm, even when he's standing  _outside_  of the dojo. Her strikes are loud and strong.

They command attention.

On the other hand, however, Kazue has some trouble willing her flames to fruition. They're definitely  _there_ , because when she gets mildly annoyed, her honey colored eyes flicker into a color resembling liquid gold. She tries and tries for hours (every. single. day.), and every single time, just before she's about to call it quits for the day, a little orange spark simmers from her fingertips.

And just when she gets excited about it, the spark dies.

Every time, she's  _almost_ there, but she can never quite  _get it_.

Fon thinks that it's some sort of mental block, maybe a trauma. Perhaps her brain subconsciously thinks that if she utilizes her flames, someone will try to take them away from her.

Kazue  _knows_ that it's something else.

(She doesn't tell him about a time when she was younger, much younger, where she got  _so angry_ at her mother for breaking a promise to spend time with her, that she threw the biggest tantrum that she could manage. She doesn't tell him about how  _easy_  it was to will the red flames, to burn,  _burn,_ _ **burn**_ , the gifts and dollies that her mother bought her to 'make it up' to her.

She doesn't let anyone know the true reason why she's so well mannered. Kazue is a good girl because when she's bad, everything  _burns,_ and she hurts the people she loves most. She doesn't want to hurt anyone that way ever again.)

There's no use in pushing it, though. Her flames will emerge when the time is right— they've never failed her before.

Every evening after dinner, Kazue sits with her shifu and meditates. Sometimes, the other two boys join them, but Kazue consistently does. She closes her eyes and she listens to her soul  _hum_. Shifu calls it  _hyper intuition,_ and apparently, it runs in Iemitsu's side of the family.

She listens closely as the embers within her core  _roar_ , waiting for the perfect opportunity to come out.

* * *

On the fourteenth day, he gathers the children together again. His stance reminds them of the first time they'd ever fought the Hibari matriarch.

His manic grin reveals that he's not that untraditional of a storm, afterall.

"I know that you're missing a member of your group, but I cannot in good conscious send you back to Japan without first learning how to fight  _with_ one another."

They each cry out a declaration of war as they move in to battle their master.

* * *

On the twentieth night, Kazue wakes up screaming.

The forest is  _drenched_ in a heavy, dark aura and her entire body  _burns._

The boys are in her room within seconds, and Fon watches them with keen eyes. As a storm himself,  _he_ feels it too.

Kazue clutches at her chest and she breaks free of Kensuke's worried grasp. She runs into the forest, and they all follow closely behind.

"Shifu," she gasps, pointing at the mountains that look small,  _so small_  from where they stand. " _What_ is up there?"

The red flames look sinister in the night, and heavy, dark smoke clouds the mountains.

Fon raises an eyebrow at her.

"Why?"

"Because someone up there is  _calling to me_." She says with tears welling up in her eyes, "He's in  _pain_ , shifu. His soul is  _crying."_

"Up in the mountains," Fon says carefully, "is a sovereign state. And it looks like the fire is most concentrated at the castle."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5** : The Concept of Hate

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

 **Note** : I find it very hard to believe that an eight year old managed to massacre an entire castle and leave a country to ruins by himself. That bitch 100% hired help.

* * *

When they were three years of age, Belphegor noticed one jarring difference between he and his twin. They were identical in nearly every single way; every way but one.

"Mother," he asked, "Why does Rasiel have to grow his hair out so long?"

The Queen brushed her younger son's silky blonde locks away from his face as she thought over the answer.

She said, "I'm training him to be King."

Belphegor reached up and tugged on one of  _her_ long bangs.

"It must be difficult to see."

She laughed. The Queen's laugh was beautiful. She sounded like twinkling bells.

"Uishishishi~" The young prince mimicked. His laugh wasn't so beautiful.

"My dear, ' _difficult to see_ ' is only the beginning."

* * *

It doesn't take long for one of Fon's contacts to appear with a helicopter. The children board tensely, unsure of what they're to find on top of the mountains. They're each equipped with their weapon of choice, and Fon settles himself on Kazue's right shoulder. He is positive that he is strong enough to keep them safe from whatever they may find, and he's confident that the children are at least strong enough on their own to be able to run away if need be.

Still, he can't help but worry.

Kyoya is his dear nephew, and Kazue is an important piece of the Vongola Alliance. He's also grown quite fond of Kensuke. He can't let anything go wrong.

From what Fon can recall of the sovereign land, its territory is  _technically_ part of Russia. They have their own government, though— a monarchy. It's somewhat of a Hong Kong - China situation. Unlike Hong Kong (a thriving city), this kingdom seems to have been on the verge of collapsing for the past few decades. Russia has offered several times to completely assimilate the state into the motherland, but the Queen has been stubborn.

The population of the state becomes smaller and smaller every year, and the economy poorer because of it.

"Kazue," Kensuke tightens his grip on the handle of his wakizashi. He's not tall enough for a katana yet, and he aims to one day wield a nodachi. "Are you sure that there's someone up there? I don't think we're going to find any survivors."

Kyoya makes a sort of guttural sound. She thinks that it's supposed to be agreement. He turns to look at her with apprehension after sniffing the air a few times.

It smells like blood.

"A carnivore has gone on rampage."

She leans half her body outside of the helicopter, keeping watch as they approach the castle.

"I can feel him, your carnivore." She says, voice barely audible over the loud flapping of the helicopter. She feels others with auras just as ominous, however, "The one calling to me isn't him— though he feels very similar. They're both very afraid."

When they land in an empty field, they realize that they're not the only ones who were attracted by the fire. Fon's eyes narrow at an all too familiar insignia plastered on a large jet. The corners of Kyoya's lips twitch upward as he, too, recognizes the sign.

He aspires to eventually become  _quality_.

"If the Varia are your enemies, you three are to  _run_." Fon instructs.

Fon doesn't hold an ounce of fear towards the Varia. In fact, once upon a time, he  _was_ Varia. His charges are  _children_ , however, just barely learning how to control their own bodies. They are far from old or skilled enough to fight against trained assassins.

Kensuke wants to argue (he's gotten cocky), but a steely glance from Kazue is enough to shut him up.

"We will escape if approached by a Varia officer with malicious intent. We are to extract the soul in need and leave. That's it." Her eyes dart between Kensuke and Kyoya.

They both give her nods of affirmation.

"Let's go to the fire." Kazue commands, and the children run.

The small area of the town that they run through is proof enough that something sinister has happened. For an entire state burning to  _ashes_ , it is eerily quiet. There are no squawking birds, and no terrified animals. There is not a scream nor a whisper, and yet, also not a single body in sight.

There is either darkness or fire. There is something foul in the air. It  _reeks_ of blood.

Kazue's ears ring as they approach the castle. It's crazy, but, "They're inside."

"We are  _not_ going in there." Kensuke says, "The roof is going to collapse, and we're going to actually die."

Kyoya drops his tonfas from his sleeves and dashes headfirst to the entrance of the gargantuan building.

Kazue has half a mind to throw her bo staff at him like a javelin, but chooses instead to follow him.

"What- hey! Don't leave me!"

Figures become clearer the closer they get to the entrance. A teenager with silver, shoulder-length hair guards the door. An even taller (longer?), tan skinned teen lazes on the grass with a look of utter boredom.

"Voi, what are a bunch of fuckin' kids doing here?" The silver haired teenager sneers in Italian. He briefly makes eye contact with Fon (he  _does_ live near here, doesn't he?) and quickly connects that these children aren't to be messed with.

The teen with darker coloring sits up to scan them over before flopping back down. He mutters a quiet, "Tiny scum." before closing his eyes and slowing his breathing. The Shark can deal with this— he's going to take a nap and attempt to avoid the situation altogether.

Kyoya raises a tonfa threateningly at the door guard.

"Let us through this  _instant_ , or I  _will_ bite you to death." He flashes his canines at the teen.

Kensuke grabs onto his shoulder, but Kyoya shoves him away and pushes onward.

"Kyoya, stop, I don't think he can understand you."

"Bold of you to assume I can't understand you." The silver haired teen mutters under his breath, still in Italian.

He pokes Kyoya's forehead with two fingers. Then, he squints at the two boys for a second. He bites on the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing when he notices the wakizashi attached to the taller kid's side.

"If you don't want to fuckin' die, you'd better leave." He says in flawless Japanese.

He's not dumb.  _He'd_  die before he'll allow the Varia to start beef with the Arcobaleno, they  _do_  occasionally employ them, it's just that these kids are really fucking with the mission.

He shoots another nervous glance at Fon, who smiles at him somewhat passive-aggressively. He's never known  _smiles_ to be passive-aggressive before.

Kazue bites on the nail of her thumb as she thinks. It's obvious that the teens are way, way stronger than them, so she'll have to avoid a fight, but she really needs to get inside.

"Can you tell us what's going on?" She asks.

"Classified." A deep voice rumbles, and she turns to look at the teen lying on the grass.

"Can you let us  _in_?"

He opens an eye to look at her. He scoffs before yawning and turning around, as if not seeing her would help him avoid her.

What is he? A cat?

"No, we can't let you in. Client's orders." Door guard replies.

"Did the client order you to kill everyone in town, too?" Kensuke asks.

"Voi, why the hell are you even fuckin' here?"

Kazue's heart burns. So that's a  _yes_.

"Everyone?" Kensuke presses, "Even the innocent people?"

The silver haired teen looks like he's about to start swinging, but a loud groan interrupts him before he does.

"A job's a job, kid. The mafia doesn't care about your shitty morals."

That's one hell of an excuse, because Daniela Cavallone was the kindest person that Kazue has  _ever_  known, and she was a Mafia  _Donna_.

Something inside of her  _snaps_.

"I don't know who  _you_ are, but I  _am_ the mafia."

She will grow to have influence in two of the biggest mafia families in the  _world_. Common mafiosi should cower at her feet.

"Hoh?" The dark haired teen sits up, and suddenly, Kazue is on the receiving end of a pistol.

Of course, this angry teenager isn't just any common mafioso.

Fon narrows his eyes and prepares to gather storm flames to the palms of his hands. Xanxus' other hand rests on his hip, prepared to draw his other gun if the Arcobaleno deems it necessary to fight. He knows he'll lose, but he's always wanted to duke it out with the world's strongest.

"Voi, shitty boss, I don't think-"

"Shut the fuck up, shark," he snaps. He clicks the safety switch. "I'm Xanxus; leader of the Varia, potential Vongola Decimo. Who the fuck are you?"

Honey brown flickers to gold.

So she's not just a brat after all. Xanxus smirks.

"I'm Sawada Kazue; daughter of Daniela, Cavallone Decimo and the Vongola External Advisor, Iemitsu The Young Lion."

The shark pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters something resembling ' _dumbass bronco's niece_ ,' ' _no wonder she looks familia_ r,' and ' _I_   _thought she was a fuckin' rumor baby_ ' under his breath.

"Shitty boss, if you fucking kill her, there is no fucking way in  _hell_  that I'll be able to clean up that shitty mess-"

 _Kill_? Kensuke tenses and slowly moves into a crouching position. If  _anyone_ tries to kill  _his sky,_ they'd better be prepared to answer to  _him_  first. He's small and nimble enough. He  _will_  slice off that guy's feet, or die trying.

All the while, Kyoya's eyes have not left the Varia swordsman for even a  _second_. He makes a poor attempt at smothering his excitement. He might get his chance to see if he's quality sooner rather than later.

And of course, no matter how distant in relation they may be, "It's nice to meet you,  _cousin_." Kazue bows.

Fon would laugh if it were appropriate. Always so polite, that one, but is now really the time?

"What the fuck?" The Shark sputters, "Did you just fucking- goddamn Japanese making my headache-"

Xanxus snorts. He clicks the safety of his gun back on and shoves it back into its holster.

"You can relax, sword-brat," he nods at Kensuke before zoning back in on Kazue. "Good rain. Might be as good as mine someday."

He smirks when the shark screams an "AS IF!"

"Cloud could probably use some discipline, but we know how they can be."

Fon sends Xanxus another warning glare before relaxing again. Xanxus won't attack them. Kazue is too important, and if he's to become Decimo, he'll need her alliance in the future. He may be violent, but he's always been smart.

"Can you let us in?" She asks once more. She's still angry that the Varia went and massacred an entire sovereign state, but she also recognizes that she can't do anything about it. They're already dead.

Her heart mourns, but she needs to remember her original objective.

She can save at least  _one_.

He squats so that he's eye level with her. That, and it hurts his neck to look down so much.

"Why?"

His storm had requested  _specifically_ that he stay out of the final fight. He's also under contract to abide by the request, but he'll hear the brat out.

"A soul is crying to me." She states blandly, as if it were the obvious conclusion. Oddly enough, as a fellow sky, Xanxus understands  _exactly_.

Shark's soul had been crying when they had first met, too.

"Voi, what the hell does  _that_  mean?"

Xanxus points his gun at the Shark, and Shark groans in frustration before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on the castle doors. It's an empty threat, but the message is clear. "Fine, have it your way."

"There are two storms in there." Xanxus says, "One of them is  _mine_."

She nods in understanding. "And the other one needs  _me_."

He studies her for a moment. Then he puts a large hand on her head and ruffles her hair. "You'll be a good boss. Though, not as good as me."

Without looking, he shoots a hole through the castle door with his flame-pistol.

"WHAT THE HELL, SHITTY BOSS-"

"Let them in, trash shark."

" _Voi_ , Bel specifically said-"

"I don't care. We're not severing a half-formed bond between my  _cousin_ and her storm."

The shark sputters obscenities in disbelief, but opens the castle doors nonetheless.

Kazue gives Xanxus a grateful smile.

"Take your brat and leave. I'm sending out the Storm Brigade to clean up."

 _Storm Brigade_. That's why there were no bodies.

Red  _disintegrates_.

And they plan to leave nothing behind on these lonely mountains but whispers and ghosts.

"Shifu, stay here with Xanxus for a moment," Kazue waits for the Arcobaleno to slide off her shoulder, "I feel like this is something that we need to do without you."

"Search for us if we don't come out in ten minutes." Kyoya mutters quietly, only loud enough for trained ears to hear. His pride will never allow him to actually admit it, but he  _is_  aware that at his age, he does have  _some_  limits.

It'll only make him stronger in the long run.

The doors slam shut behind them, but they don't get very far into the building before they're greeted with the sight of wire traps and flying blades. Identical storms attack one another relentlessly, and it doesn't seem like it's going to be an obvious win for either side.

They don't even notice that they now have spectators.

"You took it from me," the one in black cries— and that one, that's the one, the one who's soul  _cries_. "You took my throne, our  _people_ , our  _parents_." With a flick of the wrist, he sends a chakram soaring through the air. The one in white catches it by using a knife and spinning it through its hollow middle. He sends the chakram back.

In another life, perhaps they're playing frisbee. They're catching a plastic disk, and not an edged weapon. They're playing for fun, and not battling to the death. Part of the castle somewhere far away crumbles, and the sound of bricks falling resounds throughout what remains of the fortress. The fire has not reached them yet, but Kazue knows that she's running out of time.

"I am giving you  _mercy_ ," the one in white hisses. "I offered you a chance to escape  _with_ me, foolish brother."

"Mercy?!" The one in black shouts. "I am a  _king_ , I don't need mercy from a lowly prince such as  _you."_

 _He's lying_ , Kazue wants to say, but this fight seems so personal. She almost doesn't want to intrude. The twins are exchanging blows meant to kill, and the intent to kill, she feels is real. But even truer than the anger that they have for each other right now, is  _love_.

"YOU WILL BE THE  _LAST_ KING!" The one in white  _screams_.

They love each other, even if they don't want to admit it.

They're rushing to see who can show 'mercy' first— who can kill the other the quickest, because as much as they say that they hate each other, they know that it will be much more painful to do the final blow and have to live without the other.

Who can spare the other from that pain first?

"I've killed them  _all,"_ the one in white presses the tip of his blade against the other's throat, "You can't be the king of  _nothing_."

The one in black curls one of his fingers. A chakram, thought previously to have been lost, slides back into the and of the one in black.  _Ah_ , the one in white realizes,  _he attached it to a wire_. The one in black presses the sharp outer edge of his chakram against the back of the one in white's neck.

Their position  _intimate_. It's a bastardization of a hug. The one in white straddles the older twin on the floor, and the one in black has his arms interlocked around the younger twin's shoulders.

Their lives are in each other's hands.

 _Do it,_ " A raspy voice grunts as the sharp blade presses just a bit harder against his neck, "You've come this far. Who am I to stop you?"

"Kensuke," Kazue whispers a silent order.

The boy draws his sword and slices every single wire that they cross away. Upon hearing the clanging of several pieces of falling metal, the twins momentarily forget their fight, and they point their blades at the common enemy.

Perhaps it may even be better this way.

Perhaps they can die together, fighting one last intruder in their crumbling castle.

They're littered with cuts and bruises. Their clothes are in tatters, though, their tiaras are surprisingly intact. They've both worn each other to the point of exhaustion. The only thing keeping either of them  _moving_ is sheer will power.

Her boys stand in front of her defensively, but Kazue drops her weapon. It clatters when it hits the floor, and both twins flinch at the sound. She holds both of her hands in front of her face where the twins can see them as the staff rolls away.

"You don't have to do this," she says, "neither of you have to die."

The weapons return to threaten each of their vulnerable necks.

"You're a  _peasant_ ," the one in white spits; "what do  _you_  know?" the one in black growls.

"So tell me what I need to know," she places a hand on each of her dark haired boys' shoulders, and the both of them drop their stances as well, though their fingers are still wrapped firmly around their weapons. "What are your names?"

"Rasiel is the honorable king," the one in white says; "And my brother, Belphegor, is now the crown prince." the one in black finishes.

Even when they're so close to killing each other, they introduce one another with pride and finish each other's sentences.

"Why must one of you die?" She asks.

"Because the kingdom is  _cursed_." They say in tandem.

"If Rasiel dies,  _I'll_  be king. I can save him from the curse." Belphegor pushes the blade even harder against Rasiel's skin. If he pushes any further, his brother will bleed.

"If Belphegor dies, I'll remain king." Rasiel rebuttals, "And Belphegor will never see the curse."

It's some twisted logic, but the resolve is...noble? Respectable? She doesn't actually condone senseless violence. She can even respect the Varia because they filter their hits and they can always fetch a pretty penny, but she'll never condone  _senseless_  violence for  _pleasure._ This situation falls somewhat in a gray area. On their quest to save one another, an entire state fell as collateral damage.

"Tell me about the curse." Kazue demands.

They don't need to listen to her, but neither wants to die. And neither one wants to kill the other. Their hands quiver, so they stall.

"There's a reason why we never reveal our eyes," Rasiel begins; Belphegor continues, "It is because every monarch of this kingdom is cursed to slowly go blind."

"We train from young to navigate without sight," Belphegor says; "The effects are gradual, but the curse has already taken its course." Rasiel finishes.

Their vision weakens every year, and now that Belphegor has killed their mother and Rasiel is in charge, he knows that his own vision will begin to more rapidly deteriorate.

"What happens after they go blind?" The young sky inquires.

The twins reply in unison. "After they go blind, they fall into madness."

"This still doesn't make any sense. Why did you kill  _everyone_?" Kensuke's voice is barely louder than a whisper, "What about the innocents?" He repeats his earlier question.

"It's the only way to end the cycle." Belphegor says.

"Besides, the villagers were never innocent." Rasiel scoffs.

"They sacrificed the first king for prosperity. The powerful mist demanded repayment from the royal family every generation since."

"However, the powerful mist died a long time ago— before the birth of the current strongest mist."

"And ever since his death, our land has become pitiful. We sacrifice ourselves for  _nothing._ " Belphegor lowers his knife.

Rasiel lowers his chakram.

"We have to kill  _everyone_." Rasiel's voice shakes, "and after the lone survivor goes mad, then our bloodline will be saved."

Kazue's chest  _aches_.

"Have you ever tried alternative ways to remove the curse?" It's a stupid question.

"Of course we've tried!" Rasiel shouts, indignant.

Belphegor joins, "Do you take us for fools?!"

"The closest we've gotten to a cure is through gradual healing from sky flames. But even sky flames were too weak to  _break_ the curse." Rasiel explains.

"The sky flames delayed the effects of the curse, but didn't get rid of it entirely.  _That_  monarch lived the longest life in our history. He was our grandfather." Belphegor concludes.

"There has to be a way to save them," Kensuke turns to her with a look of horror, "They shouldn't have to keep paying for the mistakes of the past. They're  _kids_ , like  _us._ "

Even Kyoya, who's been silent thus far, nods in agreement.

"We didn't come this far just for one of the herbivores to die."

Kyoya ducks under a knife.

"We are royalty, you know," Belphegor sneers, "we  _eat_  herbivores for dinner."

She slowly backs away from the group.

"I want to try something." Kazue says, "Wait here."

When the twins finally relax their holds on one another and drop their weapons, she turns around runs to the entrance of the castle. She pulls the large double doors open.

"Voi, what the hell?" Squalo falls through the doors. He'd been leaning on them before she opened them.

She ignores him.

"Xanxus."

Crimson red meets liquid gold.

She hadn't recognized him earlier because she'd only seen younger pictures of him, but she remembers that her mother had once told her about Vongola Secendo's flames of wrath, and how Vongola Nono's youngest son happened to inherit them. The solution came simply to her. If normal sky flames weren't enough to break the curse, then they'd just have to find flames that were just as harmonic, but even more volatile.

Xanxus forces all of the children to evacuate the castle after Kazue explains the situation to him. He picks the twins up by the back of their shirts (like how a lion would it's cubs) and marches to the middle of the clearing just outside of what remains of the castle.

After dropping them, he places a palm on Belphegor's head, much like he did to Kazue earlier.

Skies are, to an extent, a mixture of every flame. The only difference between traditional sky flames and the flames of wrath, are that flames of wrath have far higher concentrations of storm and cloud flames than anything else; the most turbulent of all the flame types.

Xanxus first begins to draw the mist flames out of Belphegor's head with his own.

After a few moments of silence, vibrant violet flames appear to envelope Belphegor's eyes.

Before they can do any damage, Xanxus places both of his hands over each of Belphegor's eyes and pushes both wrath and sun flames through his eyelids. The sun flames heal him while, simultaneously, the flames of wrath eat away at the mist flames.

"Voi," the man who she learns is named Squalo approaches her as the children all watch Xanxus work in awe. Even Fon seems extremely invested.

"How did you think to do that?"

"The twins said that the closest any of their ancestors have been to being cured was through exposure to sky flames and  _healing_." She says, "but then Kyoya and Bel started talking about eating herbivores-"

She pauses when Squalo makes a mildly disgusted face. They become momentarily distracted when Bel shouts an elated, "It worked! My vision is clearer!"

Xanxus moves on to Rasiel.

"-it's a long story, don't worry about it." She chuckles quietly to herself, "anyway, they started talking about eating herbivores, and I thought: what if the previous guys were on the right track. They were healing the curse's damage, but they couldn't stop it. Then I remembered that Vongola Nono's youngest son is said to have particularly volatile flames, flames that  _eat_ at things."

"So then you thought that Xanxus's flames could eat the curse." Squalo smirks. "An obvious conclusion that could only be thought up from a childish mind. Not bad, kid."

She doesn't take any offense. It's true that most adults would have dismissed her idea because of how untraditional it is. If something needs to be  _healed_ , the obvious choice would be to use sun, sky, or to a far lesser extent, rain flames. No one would try to  _dissolve_ the problem, so to speak, especially with all the potential negative side effects.

"Thank you."

She smiles.

"Oi, Sky-brat," Xanxus calls, "your storm is rejecting my flames."

The smile falters.

"What do you mean?"

"He's halfway bonded with  _you_. He doesn't fuckin' want mine."

She feels her heart  _drop_. A sense of panic settles itself in the base of her stomach. She wants to  _throw up._

"Well, that's an  _issue_." Fon places a hand under his chin as he thinks, "Kazue has a...mental trauma right now. She can't call out her flames."

"What?" Xanxus frowns, "What kind of useless sky can't use their fucking flames?"

She clearly isn't  _latent,_ or she wouldn't have been able to feel Rasiel's cry for help in the first place.

"Well, it's your dad's fault that she even has a trauma at all." Kensuke jibes, "He's the one who threatened to take them away."'

"What?!" Xanxus exclaims, affronted, "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why would  _we_  know, he's  _your_ dad!"

"That old man was your  _dad_?" Kyoya growls as he drops his tonfas from his sleeves, "Where do you live? I'm going to bite him to death."

"That's my fuckin'  _father_ and Vongola Nono you're talking about, show some  _respect_."

"I don't respect false carnivores who don't  _deserve it_."

"Fuck did you just call him?!"

"Voi, stop picking fights with toddlers!"

"We're  _seven_." Kensuke snaps. "Not toddlers."

"Oh," Squalo rolls his eyes, "sorry, that makes  _so much of a_ _ **fucking**_ _difference._ "

Kazue struggles to breathe. The air is too  _heavy_. Her heart is being  _crushed_.

"Everybody  _be quiet._ " Kazue demands. Once again, her eyes are flickering between their natural honey brown and gold, but those are the only signs of flames that she can convey.

Her eyes water.

"I'm sorry, Rasiel."

"What are you apologizing for, silly peasant? It was my fault for getting my hopes up in the first place."

His words are  _scalding._

_She's about to throw up._

"But your  _mine_ ," she argues, "your flames called out to me and  _I_  answered. I need to fix what's mine."

" _Uishishi_ , maybe I  _should_  kill you, after all." Belphegor points a knife at Rasiel.

_No, stop._

She can  _fix_ him, she stares at her empty hands, just give her some  _time._

"Brat," a rough voice calls for her attention, "do your eyes always do that when you're upset?"

"What?"

Calloused fingers lift her chin up, and his gaze pierces through her soul. "Do your flames always affect your eye coloring when you are upset?"

"Yes?" She responds with furrowed eyebrows.

"Do your eyes do that when you are  _determined_?"

"Uh," she turns to look at her friends.

They shake their heads.

He forces her to look at him again. "You're a horrible sky." He says.

"Excuse me?!"

"You'll amount to nothing. Rasiel is going to go blind and it's all your fault." He smirks when tears begin to well up in her eyes once more.

"Voi, shitty boss! That's harsh, even for you-"

"Shut the fuck up, Shark." He says, eyes not leaving Kazue's own, "This is between me and the wannabe-sky _. Daughter of Daniela_?" He scoffs, "Pathetic. I  _knew_ her. She'd be disappointed to know that her daughter turned out to be so  _pathetic_ and  _weak_."

"No, you're  _wrong_." She responds through gritted teeth. How dare he? How  _dare_ he?! Mama  _loved_  her, she always said so. He probably didn't even  _know_ her.

"Wrong about  _what_?"

"Everything!" Her fingers spark.

"Prove me wrong then,  _trash_."

She slaps his hand away from her face with sparkling fingers.

"I'll prove you wrong. I'll grow stronger than you." She growls.

"Oh yeah?" He goads, " _Show me."_

She shudders when their eyes meet. He's  _enjoying_ this.

" _SHOW ME._ "

Smoke sprouts from the middle of her forehead.

Xanxus grins.

" _TELL YOUR SHITTY FLAMES TO COME OUT_!" He roars.

She roars back, and at first it's unintelligible. But then the smoke on her forehead blooms into a full flame, and the sparks at her fingertips blossom into a beautiful fire and-

And, what?

Xanxus' grin is animalistic when he pulses a glob of fire into his own palm and holds it next to her own. The flames are the same color. "Fucking  _hell_ ," he simpers, "took you long enough. I almost thought I'd have to  _beat_ the flames out of you."

It all makes sense now.

"You were trying to get me riled up on purpose."

"Yeah, that dying will and firm resolve bullshit doesn't apply to you. They won't come out no matter how much you  _want_ them to. You gotta beat them into submission, then forcefully  _yank_  the fuckers out."

Squalo whistles.

"Shit, kid. You've got hyper dying will flames of  _wrath_. You're fucking  _stacked_. I blame Iemitsu's bullshit genes."

Fon hums in thought. "It appears Iemitsu's hyper dying will flames and Daniela's cloud affinity mutated in Kazue. I'd blame  _both_ her parents for this."

"Heal your own fuckin' storm," Xanxus's flames disappear, "We're going back to the Varia Mansion." He also needs to pay the old man a visit. Why the  _hell_ would he try to do something as foolish as to attempt to seal away the child gluing the Cavallone and Vongola alliance together?

Kazue can only blink up at Xanxus in shock as she watches him, Squalo, and Belphegor walk away. Her flames slowly begin to fade out.

"You better be real fucking strong next time we meet, brats. I'll be fucking watching."

Belphegor cackles as he swipes at Rasiel one last time. The older twin snatches the knife out of the younger's hand, and replaces it with one of his own chakrams.

"I'll definitely kill you next time, foolish brother." Belphegor growls, but he holds the chakram tenderly against his chest.  _See you later_.

Rasiel presses the flat side of Bel's knife to his cheek. "I'll be waiting."  _I'll miss you_.

* * *

"How peculiar," Meiko hums when Kazue's group shows up at her doorstep, "I'm almost positive that I only sent away  _three_ children, yet here you are, returning to me with a fourth."

Kyoya flushes in embarrassment after digesting his mother's words as criticism.

"Hi, Meiko-sama! Your plane staff was very friendly!" Kensuke beams up at her excitedly.

She pats his head accommodatingly, "Welcome back."

"Uishesheshe," Rasiel brushes his bangs back and takes a look at his surroundings. His eyes are a brilliant, bright blue. "So this is where the Skylark lives? Not bad, not bad at all!"

As a royal, he must show fellow nobility  _some_ respect.

She ushers the children into the compound, "No matter. Ryohei is already waiting for you all at the gazebo. We can make our introductions then."

"Meiko-sama, I must ask of you a favor," Kazue says as they make their way across the compound, "As you may have deduced, Rasiel is here in Namimori illegally."

"Oh?"

"He's technically  _dead_." She continues, "Can you please file some paperwork, claiming him as your legal ward until he's of age?"

Meiko pretends to ponder upon the idea. She  _had_  made up her mind when she first met her son's sky that she'd do anything to help them.

Never mind that she's also grooming them to take over her organization when she finally decides to retire— so it's not like she's assisting them without getting anything out of it in return.

"Your storm can stay in one of our guest houses. One of my guardians will be his legal guardian on paper, but he'll still be  _your_  responsibility." She finally says, "Though, creating a new identity for him may take some time."

"I am not a  _pet_." Rasiel huffs in annoyance, "Do not speak as if the King isn't here to defend himself."

Kensuke quickly leans over to smother Rasiel's mouth with a hand.

"Shut  _up_ , Rasiel! You can't speak to Meiko-sama like that!"

"Why? My blood ranks me above  _all_  of you," His voice is muffled by Kensuke's hand, "You should be  _honored_  to house a King such as I!"

Kazue sighs as she wraps her fingers around Kyoya's wrist, preventing Rasiel's early demise by tonfa.

Meiko extends a glowing red finger at Rasiel. His eyes widen at the audacity she has to threaten him-

"Listen,  _your majesty_ ," she snarls, "I don't care if you're the king of some foreign land. You're on  _my_ turf now, and here, I am the  _alpha._ I am caring for you as a favor to my son and his sky, not because I have a bleeding, compassionate heart."

He whimpers into Kensuke's palm.

"Wow!" A boisterous voice exclaims, "The atmosphere here is  _extremely_ tense!"

* * *

On their fourth birthday, the younger prince asked:

"Mother? Why is my vision so blurry?"

The Queen scrambled toward him; her fingers danced across the skin of his face.

"That can't be," She cried, "Is it because you're identical?"

"Identical?" The younger prince questioned, "Is Rasiel's vision blurry, too?"

The Queen frowned as she tugged the longer strands of his hair forward, concealing his face. "It's no matter," she ignored his question, "the curse will only take one of you in the end."

"The curse? What curse?"

The Queen laughed. It was a darker, more guttural laugh. Her laugh did not sound like twinkling bells.

"Uishishishi~" The prince chuckled quietly to himself.

He remembered when her laugh sounded like bells.

* * *

When the twins were hidden from sight, they pulled their hair back. They sat close, their noses almost touching as they peered into each other's eyes and tried to memorize their face. No, not fac _ **es**_ _. Their face_.

"We'll find a way to reverse the curse," The older prince promised;

"I'll save you." The younger one agreed.

* * *

The only way to save him was to  _kill_ him.

* * *

It pained him, but he fought back.

The curse was not  _his_ to bare.

* * *

( " _Do it,_ " A raspy voice grunts as a sharp blade presses against his neck, "You've come this far. Who am I to stop you?"

In another universe, a pink haired girl orders her rain to stop the fight  _here_.

Unfortunately for  _these_ twins, no such girl exists.

If anyone is to ask him later on if he cried, the younger prince would say no.

But as it stands, he cannot stop the tears from falling from his eyes.

The older prince grabs onto the blade; he hisses when it rips through the skin of his palm. He pulls and pulls until the point nicks his throat.

There's a sharp gasp when a tiny bead of red creates a tiny river across milky white skin.

"C'mon now," the bleeding twin whispers, "I taught you better than  _this_."

He brushes the hair out of his twin's face one last time. They press their noses against one another, and they peer into each other's eyes.

The younger prince doesn't  _need_ the curse to go mad.

He can't handle the pure look of  _bliss_ that his brother portrays.

"I hurt you," He jabs a knife into the elder's gut, " _Please_ , I need you to hate me."

"You're going to be a king now. Kings don't  _beg_."

The older twin coughs. He laughs when it hurts.

"Uishesheshe~"

It sounds like twinkling bells.

" _I need you to hate me!_ " The younger prince yells as he plunges another knife into his mirror's thigh, then another two, three,  _four_ into his gut. " _I'_ _ **ve**_   _spIL_ _ **Le**_ _d rOyA_ _ **L**_   _BL_ _ **OOD**_ _!"_

"Why would I hate you?" He laughs again when the younger prince's response is a stab to his chest. "If you were me, and I were you-"

" _HATE ME!_ "

"-would you hate  _me_ , if I were to do this to  _you_?" He manages with the last of his strength to grasp onto a stray knife. He holds it against his own throat "You  _wouldn't_ , right? We're one in the same, you see."

There is silence.

And then wet rattling when he tries to fill his flooding lungs with air.

The younger twin slaps the knife away. "I'm not going to use that."

"Don't," the dying twin coughs again, the metallic taste of blood stains the inside of his mouth, "Don't be pathetic."

"You'll bleed out anyway-"

"Did you learn  _nothing_ , foolish brother? Here," he laughs. It  _hurts._ "As your big brother, I'll give you one  _last_ lesson. Don't start wars that you can't finish."

"You'll bleed out anyway." The younger brother repeats quietly— whether it's reassurance for himself or his twin, he can't tell. The older brother's eyes are closed; his breathing slows. The younger isn't sure that his twin can hear him anymore.

When the older twin opens his eyes to a world of black, at first, he is  _delighted_. Is this death? Is death an endless void?

But then soft, slender fingers dance across the skin of his face, and he violently jerks away.

"Belphegor?" He hisses, "You sentimental  _fool,_ finish me  _now_."

"Close enough," a stranger chortles (it does not sound like twinkling bells), " _Byakuran_. You see, that dreadful night, your flames flared and  _I_ answered. I still have a use for you,  _King_ Rasiel. "

When nearly twenty years later, he once again meets his twin.

Rasiel thinks to himself.

_Perhaps, now, I can hate him._

He hates him.

For forcing him to repeat that  _dreadful_ night all over again.)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6** : The Concept of Learning

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor any of the characters that have appeared in the franchise. I only own this fic, and my OCs.

 **Note** : The names of Kazue's squad right now cracks me  _up_. Kazue, Kyoya, Kensuke, Ryohei, and Rasiel. Say  _that_  ten times fast. (The remaining two guardians will not fit this pattern, so don't get any ideas lmfao.)

Also,

If you like BnHA and you haven't checked out my other story,  _Hydrangea_  yet, you should definitely give it a try! It'll have darker, more mature themes, and the protagonist of the story couldn't be any more different from Kazue. I'm sure you'll grow to love her all the same, though!

* * *

Kazue couldn't possibly be any happier than she currently is, right now. Her heart is  _full_. Meiko very graciously decided to host a 'welcome home' party for Kazue and her boys.

 _Her boys_.

From an outsider's perspective, it may look like her boys (her  _family_ ) don't get along well, but Kazue knows better. Despite all the trash-talk and petty insults, their souls vibrate against each other (as if they're laughing) while they brawl against one another in a battle royale-like fashion.

Of course, Kensuke is using a bokken, Kyoya's tonfas are padded, Ryohei's using only his body, and Rasiel is equipped with plastic  _frisbees_ , but they're having fun nonetheless.

"You're not going to join?" Meiko's eyes sparkle as she watches the fight. They've all grown so much in the past month. There's  _so much more to work with_.

She can only thank her uncle and his associate for such great results.

"Mm," Kazue laughs when Ryohei lands a particularly harsh uppercut against Rasiel's chin; the victim of said uppercut gives out a relatively monkey-like screech as he repeatedly slaps the boxer with his frisbees in retaliation. "I think my weapon itself might give me an advantage. They're all close combatants."

Meiko hums in agreement. "Rasiel uses chakrams, and even though he's fully capable of utilizing them  _strategically_ , he's too prideful and has instead chosen to fight melee as the other boys do."

"I don't think he's thrown them  _once_ this whole time."

"He hasn't." Meiko chuckles, "You had better get that under control before it's too late. He'll die an early death if he doesn't learn how to reign in his pride."

Kazue sighs. "Meiko-sama," she pinches the bridge of her nose, "You  _know_ just as well as I, that  _all four_ of those boys are very similar in that each of them is as stubborn and prideful as the next. They're going to give me  _such_  a headache."

They're all annoying in their own way. Kensuke has a smug sort of pride. He's playful, and can definitely the sweetest of the bunch (actually, Ryohei's got him tied), but his sugary words have been known to have hidden meanings. Ryohei has the classic Japanese 'man-of-the-house' pride. He's honorable and noble, but this also means that he has no regard for himself and does not know when to back down. It's very straight forward, and he definitely reminds her a bit of samurai. Kyoya is  _regal_. His pride is fierce, and anyone who isn't  _blind_  can see just from the way he stands, from the way he  _breathes,_ that he thinks (he  _knows_ ) he's hot shit. And lastly, Rasiel. Rasiel is the most obvious of the bunch. He's an in-your-face, 'hey, look at me!' type of braggart, and it's especially infuriating because he can easily back all of his confidence up. He's a  _genius_.

They're all so  _dumb_  and Kazue loves them  _so much_. She knows that she'll likely have to live a long life of following after their destruction, cleaning up their messes, and apologizing to every single person that any of them will ever interact with for the rest of their lives, but Kazue loves them anyway. She wouldn't trade them for anything in the whole universe.

"Well, I suppose it's good that I called for backup, then," Meiko says casually.

Kazue's about to ask 'why,' when Reiko appears with four kids of her own— Tsuna being one of them. He bounces excitedly as they approach.

"Welcome home, Ka-nee!" He jumps into her arms, "I've  _missed_ you! I have so much to tell you!"

"Tadaima," Kazue responds with a fond smile as she gently pats his hair.

"Hello, Kazue-san!" Kyoko greets happily from behind Tsuna. Hana and Takeshi also give her little waves of their own.

Kazue dips her head in greeting. She doesn't miss the two fans hanging from Kyoko's belt loops, nor the quite large-for-her-body bow and quiver that Hana has strapped across her chest. Even Takeshi has a bokken of his own, and he's watching Kensuke intently, eyes narrowed on the boy's much different form from his own.

Her gaze drops to Tsuna's hands. His knuckles are all wrapped up with bandages, not unlike Ryohei's.

So it seems like Tsuna's little group also had some training over the past month. She'd love to see what they had learned.

"Why don't we have a little bit of a team exercise," Meiko's voice carries across the portion of the lawn that they've dubbed their 'training meadow,' sometimes referred to simply as 'the meadow.'

Kazue's guardians regroup, and they eye Tsuna's posse with interest.

"Let's see...I don't want the younger kids to get slaughtered right away, so let's put Takeshi, Kyoya, Hana, Kazue, and Tsuna on one team; and Ryohei, Kyoko, Kensuke, and Rasiel on the other."

That way, the siblings won't all have to worry about fighting one another, and people with similar specialties can fight against each other. Specialty wise, Meiko would peg Takeshi against Kensuke; Hana against Rasiel; Kyoya against Kyoko, the poor girl; and Tsuna against Ryohei. That leaves only Kazue, who seems to be the only mid-ranged fighter.

Not for long.

"But the team's are uneven," Takeshi scratches his cheek innocently, "That doesn't seem very fair."

Meiko grins. Funny he should mention that.

"Kusakabe!" She calls, and a maid dressed in a  _bright yellow_  Japanese-European maid uniform drops from her perch in a tree.

"Kusakabe, is your son around?"

"Ah, Tetsuya?" The woman wonders aloud. "You want him to join the spar?"

Kyoya's eyes widen in recognition of the name. The Kusakabe clan has always been loyal to the Hibari. Every member of the Hibari main house is assigned a Kusakabe partner. The maid— Natsuki, was assigned to his mother when she became engaged with his father. They've become close friends, and Natsuki eventually agreed to become Meiko's guardian. Since Meiko isn't a sky, she doesn't receive guardians through flame-bonding.  _Her_  guardians independently pledged themselves to her.

It's not an unusual arrangement. Skies are quite rare— even in the Vongola Alliance, which seems to have an abundance of skies between the Vongola, CEDEF, Varia, and the Cavallone. The Scorpio Famiglia, Giegue Group, and Leilei Brothers are all led by storms. TRAD6, and The Beccio Famiglia are both led by clouds. The Evocatore prefer mists as leaders, the Nero Famiglia is led by a rain, and the Nouveau by a sun.

The Bovino, a smaller, unallied but notable family has always been led by a line of lightnings. And of course, some of the smaller famiglia  _do_  get lucky. The Tomaso and Todd families both have young sky heirs, similar in age to Tsuna. The Giglio Nero is led by the Sky Arcobaleno herself. The Estraneo has not one leader of a specific flame, but a panel of leaders, each in charge of a different sect of the family. (Unbeknownst to them all, a young sky begins to gather his pawns; pawns to form what will become known as the Gesso Famiglia.)

"It'll be good for him to make some friends his age, don't you think?"

Natsuki doesn't even think about it for very long before she stretches her cheeks with her thumb and pointer finger and  _whistles_  as loud as she possibly can. The pitch gradually glissandos from an extremely high pitch to a much lower note.

The younger Kusakabe comes running, and he doesn't bat an eye when Meiko tosses a bo staff at him.

Kazue blinks at him once (he's a storm! How odd, because his mother's a sun, and most kids usually take after their mother if their father isn't a sky) before leaning over and grabbing her own.

"Great," Meiko claps her hands together, "Tetsuya will join Ryohei's team. That will even out both the numbers."

Tetsuya bows to the group. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. You all may call me Tetsu, if you'd like."

The group murmurs their own greetings and introductions.

After a while, he turns to appraise Kazue.

"It's nice to meet a fellow polearm user who's my age." He smiles, "I usually prefer a corseque, how about you?"

 _Corseque_. European. The weapon itself is really quite long; longer than the average Asian polearm, though he very likely uses a miniature version at the moment due to his age. The corseque is three-pronged, with two wing-blades that dramatically flair outward at the end of the weapon, and a probably foot-and-a-half long needle-like blade that sticks out of the pole itself.

Although like her, he's going to be using a bo staff for the spar, his fighting style will be  _noticeably_  different from her own.

She's very excited. She has much to learn from him. Fon and Meiko know enough about weapons to teach her, but they're both martial artists first and foremost. Kazue doubts she'll ever find a polearm expert as talented as her mother, but she'll strive for that level of perfection as best as she can, how ever she can.

"I haven't decided yet," she responds simply, "I'm trained in the art of wushu, so it's been hard to find something that I particularly  _like_. My master, Fon, prefers the podao, and it works well with wushu, but I'm not a fan since the pole itself is so short. I think I might be interested in a Korean woldo, though."

"Good choice." He nods, "Very long base, but still has a good base-to-blade ratio. The shape of the blade isn't as distracting as it's Chinese counterpart, the guandao. Plus, despite its length, it's still smaller and lighter than the guandao, which is perfect for wushu, a martial art based off of flexibility, speed, and misdirection."

Kazue presses her hands against her cheeks as a blush spreads across her face. Kyoya takes a step forward and growls at the boy as Kensuke and Rasiel cackle in his expense. Ryohei laughs with them, just because he  _can._

" _Ohmygosh_ ," she whispers, "I  _like_ you."

Of course, she only means that she admires his knowledge of her favorite category of weapons, a knowledge that may even possibly be on par with her own.

But  _he_ doesn't know that.

Tetsuya's eyes just about bulge out of his face. He chokes on  _air_.

"Well, now," Meiko interrupts, "If you're done with introductions and...flirting-" Kyoya hisses at his mother. She winks at him, "-you may begin!"

"Sorry, Tetsuya, I  _do_  like you, but-" she bends her body to an almost 90-degree angle when she leans forward to let Kyoya propel himself over her back and jump the boy, "Kyoya wants to have a taste of his future companion first!"

"If you're not strong enough to be my assistant,  _I'll bite you to death_!" He aims to slam a tonfa against the side of the taller boy's face. Tetsuya just  _barely_ manages to block the tonfa with his staff.

Thank  _God_ the tonfas are padded, or the staff might have actually splintered from that hit.

Kazue slams her staff against Ryohei's shoulder as he approaches Tsuna. Tsuna sends her a grateful smile before getting a running head start and tackling Rasiel into the dirt. She watches as Tsuna quickly rolls off of her storm, just in time for some of Hana's arrows to fly over his head and jam themselves into the ground where Rasiel's own head once was. He  _was_  planning on just using his frisbees; this  _is_  just a spar, but it looks like Hana's got some other ideas. He clicks his tongue before one hand reaches up under the hem of his shirt while the other, into his pants. He pulls out two sizeable stacks of chakrams, hooked onto each of his pointer fingers.

Rasiel throws a chakram in her direction; slicing one of the incoming arrows through its middle, while he dodges the other. He points another chakram in Tsuna's direction, and Tsuna salutes at the blond playfully before running off and tackling Kensuke, right before he was to land a solid hit on Takeshi with his bokken. Kyoko gracefully leaps into the air with her closed fans clenched between her dainty fingers, arms raised above her head.

She almost lands a hit at the center of Tsuna's head, only to be stopped by Takeshi's wooden sword. Tsuna exhales in relief.

Those things are made of  _metal_. They  _hurt_. And, they should probably be padded, but that would defeat the purpose of the fans' folding mechanisms.

"Thanks, Taketake!" He sweeps a leg out— an attempt to trip Kensuke before he can get to Takeshi.

"No problem, Tsutsu!" Takeshi swings his bokken as if it were a baseball bat, pushing Kyoko away.

Kazue's eyes focus back on the opponent standing before her.

"Hey, big guy!" Kazue greets her friend excitedly.

She's sparred with Kensuke and Kyoya countless times in the past month, and she's even already dodged quite a few of Rasiel's chakrams.  _Ryohei,_ however, is new territory. She's  _heard_  from Fon who his tutor was.

Not that she's jealous or anything— please, her master is  _Fon,_ strongest martial artist in the world, and she specializes in a traditional  _Chinese_  martial art. Reborn is just, well.  _Reborn_.

She has high expectations.

"Hey!" He yells back. He grabs onto the end of her pole and roughly pulls it toward him, attempting to disarm her.

When he fails, she gives him a somewhat admonishing look.

"I'd be dumb to let go of this when fighting  _you_."

He laughs. "Well, it was  _extremely_  worth a shot!"

His grip is still on the staff, so he yanks again, this time, just to pull her forward. In brute strength, Ryohei is obviously much stronger than her; so even though she digs the heels of her feet into the ground, he's still able to force her to slide closer to him.

She ducks under his punch. She takes advantage of his right hand still firmly grasping onto her staff and flexes her core. She puts two hands onto the pole and  _jumps_ , arching her back  _just enough_  to avoid collision with his head. She plants her feet behind him, and her grasp on the pole twists his arm uncomfortably enough that he lets go. In that spare moment of time, she swings her staff forward and catches it with her other hand. Her chest presses against his back as she pulls on her weapon, applying pressure against his neck. She'd be suffocating him if she were serious and they weren't sparring.

Ryohei laughs. "Holy cow, that was  _extreme_! You gotta show me how to do a flip like that later."

Parkour was part of his training with Reborn, but he hasn't mastered any flashy movements yet.

"Okay!" She agrees easily.

"Well then," he grunts when she applies even more pressure. Then he pops a quick squat, throwing her off balance when his chin brings her down with him. As she falls forward, he slithers out of her grasp and he does the  _unthinkable_. He angles his body and aims a taekwondo kick at her side before she can catch herself.

"Ack!" She stabs her staff into the dirt to keep from falling completely. A ground fight against Ryohei is the last thing that she needs. She will not be able to overpower him if he gets her pinned. "That  _hurt_." She hisses, slightly miffed, "When did you learn how to kick?"

He gives her a dazzling grin. He  _sparkles_.

There is no way that he doesn't have a little bit of mist in him.

"When we're sparring, we're not boxing." He recites his teacher's speech, "I have to differentiate competitive fighting and combative fighting."

"Huh." Is all she says before Tsuna comes running and aims a high taekwondo kick at the back of Ryohei's head. It lands.

"Hey, I saw that!' The younger Sawada points an accusatory finger. Ryohei turns around with a hand rubbing the back of his head as he faces his new opponent.

"You  _extremely_  got me!"

"Take me seriously." Tsuna barks with furrowed brows, "I've been learning krav maga!"

"Wow!" Ryohei nods in approval, "That's an extreme one! Deadly if utilized by right body."

Kazue quirks a brow. When did he learn how to utilize the word utilize?

Did Reborn somehow broaden his  _vocabulary_  as well as his repertoire?

"So I should give you an  _extremely_  good chance to practice, huh?" Ryohei laughs as he surges forward and punches Tsuna as hard as he can in the gut.

The boy wheezes.

"I've been taking this spar extremely seriously this whole time! I won't hold back just because you're younger."

Tsuna sighs as he lowers his body into a more defensive position.

This is definitely going to hurt.

 _Schwing_ -

Kazue easily dodges Kyoko as she pounces the older girl and begins to swipe her bladed fans at her. Kazue knows that she can easily start swinging her staff and defeat the smaller girl, but then she'd  _feel bad_. They're just a bad matchup.

"You sure you want to do this with me?'

Kyoko continues her relentless assault, never faulting even if she still hasn't landed a hit. She is training in capoeira, and though it still has many, many differences from Kazue's wushu, it's also quite similar. Both martial arts focus on flexibility, speed, and diversion. Both arts were created to be as deadly as they are  _beautiful_ , and both arts, which utilize flashy flips and long swipes, when watched from afar appear like dancing.

The girls easily move around each other, bending their bodies into difficult positions as they dodge each other's attacks.

"It's either you or Kyoya-san," Kyoko says as she raises her foot far above her head and aims another kick at her opponent.

Oh, well, in that case, she can definitely understand why the girl targeted her over her cloud.  _She_  doesn't want to fight Kyoya, either. Still, Kazue knocks the foot away with her pole. She shakes her head.

"You should have gone for Kyoya. Our styles are too similar."

Kyoko's also extremely inexperienced when compared to Kazue.

They could go on like this  _forever_ if Kazue really wanted to. But she doesn't. Kazue bends back into a bridge to dodge a swipe of Kyoko's fan before kicking up and using the momentum pull herself into the air. She turns the tip of her foot a little to latch onto Kyoko's shoulder and bends a knee to pull the younger girl forward. Kazue locks her thighs around the younger girl's neck.

Surprised by the unexpected attack, Kyoko falls backward and gasps when she feels a shock of pain from the impact of hitting the ground.

Kazue quickly stands and points her weapon at Kyoko's nose.

"I could beat you over and over again, but you wouldn't learn a thing from me. You  _will_ learn from Kyoya, though."

As if on cue, the boy flips in from  _somewhere_  and lands beside her. Kyoko squeaks, scurries to put some distance between them, and holds up her fans defensively.

Kazue squints at Kyoya.

"This definitely was not planned, but uh, good luck!" She winks at Kyoko just as a shadow of a pole appears above her head.

She parrys it with her own staff.

"Ah, yes," Kazue giggles as she runs from Kyoya's territory. She doesn't want to interrupt them. Tetsuya keeps at her heels. "It's a shame that you're a storm." She swings at him.

He easily redirects it with his own staff.

"Why's that?" He attempts a jab at her. She leans back into a bridge in order to dodge and smoothly transitions it into a back walkover.

"Because I like you and I'm still missing a lightning and a mist." She shrugs.

Her soul doesn't exactly resonate with him the same way it does with the others, so she can't quite imagine how different this conversation would be even if he  _had_  mist or lightning flames. Tetsuya was probably born loyal to the Hibari.

He laughs. "I'm honored to have been considered."

Then, he changes his grip. He brings his hands lower on the staff, way lower than Kazue is comfortable with when welding her own weapon.

"I've noticed that you prefer more dynamic movements. Lots of different types of spins, and long slashes instead of strikes." Tetsuya thrusts his hands forward, so fast that she's  _barely_  able to redirect the hit with her staff.

He continues his assault of jabs, gradually speeding up as he does so. Soon enough, she's not just redirecting his hits anymore. She's also dodging and flailing about, trying to create an opening for her to get a solid hit in.

Unfortunately, he's faster than her. (And also taller, and longer, and has had more training than her—)

She laughs as the spar continues.

Kusakabe's  _fun_ , and she's already learned  _so much_. Of course, he's right, swiping can only work for as long as she uses a bo staff. If she wants to switch to a woldo, she'll have to practice with her staff as if it has a blade attached to the end of it.

Which she will get started on, effective immediately.

She inhales sharply when the end of Tetsuya's pole is jammed somewhat aggressively into her gut. He has the gall to smile at her apologetically.

She hopes Kyoya keeps him around.

* * *

Sawada Iemitsu is about to lose his goddamned  _mind_.

His secretary slash one night stand from a drunken night nearly eight years ago just dropped a  _flaming blue child_ onto the top of his desk. Oregano, his now  _ex_ -favorite lackey, decides that this is the perfect moment for her to leave his office. She leaves behind maniacal laughter as the door slams behind her.

He pinches himself. This  _has_  to be a dream.

Iemitsu blinks owlishly at the woman as she twirlers the ends of her hair around her finger— a nervous habit. She seems to be in deep thought.

Iemitsu has never been a praying man, but please, God, this had better not be what he thinks it is.

The child with  _blue_ hyper dying will flames dancing on his forehead waves at him with a watery smile. He's clearly confused, but after making eye contact with him, Iemitsu can safely say that  _he_ is not.

Iemitsu's entire life thus far has only been a series of horrible, terrible, bad decisions, but let it be known that he is  _not_ unintelligent. He can connect two and two together.

Iemitsu is  _horrified_.

"I wasn't going to tell you," the secretary says, "but it turns out, he takes after you more than I initially thought."

Iemitsu groans. He knew, but he wanted to hear her say it.

And now that it's been confirmed, he wants to just dig a hole and bury himself in it.

He had his  _suspicions_ , years ago when the woman had asked for maternity leave, but she  _assured_ him. She  _promised_ him.

Clearly, she lied.

How on  _Earth_ does a man who wants absolutely nothing to do with children end up with  _so many?_ Are there more than he needs to know about? Should he be surprised if another one shows up on his doorstep the following morning?

He wants to flail his arms and scream and yell at her. He had the right to know sooner. This kid is like  _seven_. He wants to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. Was  _she_  out of her goddamned mind? Why did she go through with the pregnancy? She had to have known that he is married, and he  _knows_ that she's not the motherly type. At all. He knows that she frequents the local clubs, bars, and casinos, and he knows about her little side hustle gigs that she lands whenever she gambles away too much money. He's surprised she hasn't gotten pregnant  _again_. He wants to kick the desk and jump out of his window, but the kid's innocent gaze reminds him so much of his Tsuna-fish. He can't find it in him to express his anger.

Well. He supposes that it makes sense since they  _are_  brothers.

He mentally groans again. He's getting a vasectomy.

"Anyway," the woman sniffs, "I'm getting married soon to one of my regular clients, and he doesn't actually know about him."

Ah, there it is.

So she  _is_ pregnant again, but she's actually getting married this time and can't afford for her new husband to know about her dirty little secret.

Iemitsu rubs his fingers against his temples. He can feel a headache incoming. "How are you going to take care of him if-"

"I'm not." She interrupts, "I'm quitting my job and I'm moving to Switzerland. He's yours now."

His jaw drops.

"What."

"His name is Sawada Bajiru. I call him Basil. I thought he should at least be in touch with your culture, if not you yourself, so I taught him some Japanese through books and Japanese dramas. Obviously, he won't be as fluent as your other children, but, if he'll be fine if you decide to pass him on to your wife." She shrugs. "I don't actually care."

"You have to understand." He can't bring himself to look away from the boy. "Sweetie, that's actually a little distracting, could you turn those off?"

The child frowns in concentration. Basil's forehead flame sputters a little before it completely dissipates. Iemitsu instinctively reaches over to pat his head.

"You have to understand," Iemitsu repeats, "that this is all very sudden. How do you expect me to just take a child without any warning?"

She scoffs. "Well, that's kind of the point. You can't say no to him; he's  _your_ child. It's you or the streets, and you wouldn't do that to him."

He's actually a little annoyed now.

"How on  _Earth_ could you do this? He's a human being, not a puppy."

"My husband is rich. I won't have to work a single day for the rest of my life if all of this works out."

" _He's_  rich? If you want money, you have to know that I'm," he laughs a little, disbelievingly, " _loaded_ , right? You could have told me about Basil sooner."

She purses her lips. While that  _is_  true, "That doesn't matter anymore, he's  _your_ problem now. I'm going to Switzerland. Please do not attempt to contact me or my new family."

He doesn't even know what to  _say_. He releases some sort of sound from the back of his throat in protest, but she's already halfway out the door by the time he can stammer out a weak "Wait!"

"Anyway," she flicks her hair over her shoulder before she disappears behind the door completely, "good day."

He laughs incredulously as he sees the shadow of the woman book it down of the hall (and probably out of the building) through the frosted glass window of his door.

Then, the child cries.

This is karma. It  _has_  to be. This is the world making him pay for running away from Nana all those years ago and for being such an absent father to Kazue and Tsuna.

He doesn't know what to do when the child cries even harder after realizing that his mother will not return.

Iemitsu is  _never_ having sex  _ever_ again.

* * *

Elementary school, Kazue soon rediscovers, is really quite  _dull_. Reliving her very eventful summer in her daydreams only seems to make her school days drag even longer. As the teacher continues to drone about -what is it?- oh, the  _multiplication table_ for another eternity, Kazue finds herself doodling her dearest friends. She already  _knows_ all of this. Daniela and her guardians privately tutored her up until she was shipped off to Namimori. She's sure she'll have to actually try to study in a few years, once the other kids have caught up with her, but for now, she's  _bored_.

She doesn't know if Rasiel not being there is good or bad fortune. Apparently, despite being only a year older than them, he's already halfway finished learning a highschool curriculum. Despite not having to go to school, Meiko has been gracious enough to hire him a private tutor so that he can continue his studies.

On one hand, it's probably a good thing that other children aren't subjected to his personality, but on the other, Kazue quite misses him and his annoying laughter whenever she and the rest of the squad are at school.

It just feels incomplete without him.

To the left of her, seated by the window, Kyoya stares at the open sky and watches the clouds drift. He's not exactly a genius, but he  _is_ smart. He normally takes time over the weekends to study a few chapters ahead of the class so that he can do whatever he wants during the school days. This way, he still aces all of his schoolwork despite periodically skipping his classes to roam the hallways. When he hears the rapid scratching of her pencil, his eyes briefly shift to meet hers. She glances down at her paper.

After sneaking a quick glance at it, he returns his attention back to the clouds with a bit of pink dusting his cheeks.

She covers her lips with her left hand as she snickers in amusement.

Her next target, Kensuke, is slumped over his desk in the seat in front of Kyoya; diagonal from her. He's asleep now, but just moments earlier, he was reading a manga book which he had hidden from their teacher's eyes by tucking it into his math textbook. Kensuke, while horrible with Japanese grammar and literature, is  _really_ good with numbers, so he normally doesn't pay attention in math. Kazue's half convinced that somewhere wired in his brain is a calculator.

It just doesn't make any sense. Ask him any math equation, and he can solve it without any troubles— this includes materials that are supposedly many grade levels above them.

She smirks as sketches the small pool of drool gathering on his desk.

 _Gross_.

To the right of her, Ryohei is staring at his multiplication chart with  _extreme_  focus. Kazue doesn't think that he's actually  _reading_ any of it. Maybe he thinks that if he stares at it long enough, he'll memorize it?

She pauses her sketching for a bit. She pokes him with the eraser tip of her pencil.

"You good, bud?"

He squints at the card for a little longer before dramatically exhaling and leaning back into his chair. The crook of his neck is pressed against the edge of the chair's back. He watches the moths dancing around the ceiling's lights, defeated.

"It's no use," he says, "the numbers keep moving."

"Moving?" She repeats curiously.

Kyoya perks up to attention.

"Does it happen when you're reading normal words, too?" Kyoya asks.

The boxer accidentally kicks the foot of his desk, making it emit a loud scratchy sound as it slides when he turns his body to look at Kyoya. Kensuke awakens with a jolt.

"How did you know?" Ryohei asks, eyes wide.

Kyoya's lips pull into a frown as he studies his fellow guardian. One of his father's subordinates at the station has a condition that makes it hard for him to read, and outside of 'moving text,' Ryohei  _does_ display some of the other symptoms. It was actually his mother who convinced the man to come with her to a doctor to be diagnosed since there is so little awareness for it in Japan as opposed to other countries. The man lived well into adulthood without a single person bringing the condition up as a possibility.

"Come home with me today," Kyoya commands before turning back to his clouds.

"Mwoh?" Kensuke mumbles incoherently as he rubs his eyes. He blinks rapidly as he attempts to get used to the light. "You want all of us to come?" comes out a little slurred, but he gets the message across.

"Don't care. Going to ask hahaue to take Ryohei to a doctor."

"Eh?" Kensuke straightens his posture.

Ryohei gasps. "Am I sick?"

He's met with silence.

"Kyoya, explain. We can't read your mind." Kazue reprimands.

She swears, he'll learn how to use his words  _one day._

Hopefully _._

"Dyslexia." He simply says.

"Oh my god!" Ryohei slaps his hands onto his cheeks, "Dys-what?"

"Dyslexia," a doctor explains to the crew, hours later, "also known as reading disorder, is characterized by trouble with reading despite normal intelligence. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, 'sounding out' words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads."

"Oh," Rasiel cackles, "I thought he was just  _extremely stupid_!"

"Hey!" Ryohei cries while Kensuke smacks Rasiel upside the head.

"What? Is it out of the question for him to have possibly taken too many punches to the cranium?"

Kensuke snorts, "I'm about to put  _your_  cranium through a  _wall_  if you don't  _shut up_. Ryo isn't stupid."

Meiko and Kazue both bow and thank the doctor as the boys bicker. Though, Meiko visually displays a bit more annoyance than Kazue. She's glad that Kyoya is an only child, lest she deal with this type of bickering constantly. Kyoya stands off in a corner, preferring to be situated in a part of the room where he can see everything clearly.

That evening, as the crew attempts to help Ryohei study for an upcoming test, Kazue can't help but think elementary school might not be  _that_ bad. If her sun could benefit from a couple more years of slower paced learning, she'll grit her teeth and smile through it just for him.

The summer before their first year of middle school, Kazue can't help but wish to go back to simpler times.

Like, yeah, she wanted some action, but nothing could have possibly prepared her for  _these_  shenanigans.

* * *

**Note** : OH YEAH! TIME SKIP NEXT CHAPTER! MIDDLE SCHOOL SHENANIGANS!

Did anybody catch my JOJO reference?

Cute fun fact! You had a little sneak peek at it. Tsuna's group has cute nicknames for each other! Tsutsu, Taketake, Hanana, and Koko!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7** : The Concept of Jealousy

* * *

The summer after grade 5, Kazue learns that her Uncle Dante has died.

The call comes from her mother's rain (it doesn't matter that she's gone, he's  _her_ rain. He'll love her and serve her for the rest of his life.) It's been years since she'd last heard his voice, but it's still the same. Soft. Deep. Velvety. Calming. She wishes that he'd called under different circumstances.

Uncle Jacques sings to her one of Daniela's lullabies as she falls to the floor and sobs wracked her body.

Her hair is much longer now, and her eyes much wiser. Her cheeks are losing their roundness, and she stands at about the same height as her storm; making her the tallest (sans Rasiel) of her family until the boys play catch-up.

She's not a little girl anymore, but once again, she's reminded of how far away from home she truly is.

She's never felt so small.

The Arcobaleno Reborn arrives at the Cavallone Mansion two weeks later to train the youngest of Cavallone Nono's children.

Dino doesn't want the job, but it's either him or his dearest sister's child, and even  _he_ understands that introducing her to the underworld at this point is a bad idea. Not only is her political standing  _difficult_ , but there's also someone out there who is targeting both the Cavallone  _and_ Vongola Heirs, and it's time that this string of  _accidents_ is put to an end.

He's sure that the remaining two Vongola brothers will agree.

(Dino can't bear the thought of losing his "little sister." He's lost enough already. His mother. Daniela. Dante. And now, his father has fallen to the same illness that his sister had. For now, Kazue is safe in Japan, but  _someone_ will find out about her eventually. Dino needs to become strong. For his family.)

* * *

A bell rings.

"Winner," a strong, loud voice announces, "Sasagawa Ryohei!"

He throws his head back and screams a war cry.

" _EXTREEEEEEEEEEME_!"

There is first a shocked silence.

Then, Kensuke gives a whoop and a cheer, and the rest of the spectators break out into applause. Even Rasiel is impressed enough to join in on the congratulatory celebration.

Kyoya remains stubbornly silent (yet proud. Anyone can tell that the smirk on his face is different from his predatory one-) until Kazue gives him a gentle nudge and he begrudgingly contributes exactly three claps.

His opponent had been five years older than him. He was taller,  _stronger,_ and was supposed to be smarter, but Ryohei prevailed. The soon-to-be middle schooler has successfully established himself as the strongest adolescent at the gym, and he is to represent EXTREME BOXING at an upcoming MMA tournament.

This does not bode well with the older boys. They'll be high school seniors soon— there's no next year for them. This interclub tournament had been their last chance. How selfish of him, to rob them of this opportunity despite being so young?

He's only twelve. He has at least five, maybe six if he's lucky, more years to compete. That's five, maybe six more chances than they have.

If he's going to steal something important from under his dear senpais' noses, then they'll gladly steal something precious of his.

* * *

"You're kind of a whore, aren't you, Sawada-san?" A girl places the palms of her hands on Kazue's desk. She leans forward, perhaps to be intimidating.

She's not.

Instead, Kazue finds herself distracted by her...obviously fake bosom. A push-up bra  _and_ extra padding? That's got to be overkill. They're like  _twelve,_ maybe thirteen— who is she trying to impress? Two other girls flank either side of her. They wear horribly applied makeup with pride and their uniform skirts are rolled up to be ridiculously short.

All in all, Kazue isn't very impressed; however, she smiles politely at them before tilting her head somewhat innocently to one side.

"Excuse me?"' She asks, "I don't believe I understand."

The ringleader scoffs while her two minions yell profanities at her in horribly accented English. ("This fuckin' bitch!" "You stupid slut!")

Are they...trying to be cool, or something? Should she be speaking English back?

"You know exactly what we mean," The ringleader- what was her name, again? Tomika? Whatever it is, she crosses her arms over her torso and pushes her 'chest' up even more.

Kazue raises an eyebrow. "I really don't."

"Stay away from Mochida-kun," the girl on the right growls, "he's too good for you!"

"And Hibari-sama!" The girl on the left adds.

Oh. Kazue can guess where this is going.

"And  _definitely_ stay away from Ryo-kun." The girl in the middle finishes.

"They're my  _friends_ ," Kazue says, a bit baffled.

The girl in the middle rolls her eyes. "Listen, Sawada-san, nobody cares that you all hung out in elementary school. We're  _middle-schoolers_ now, your relationship isn't appropriate anymore."

The left girl nods in agreement. "Even my Mama agrees that you're starting to look like a hussy."

"This is our only warning," Mochida's fangirl says, "Tomiko-chan's been learning boxing to impress Sasagawa-kun, so you better watch it!"

Kazue chews on her bottom lip to keep from laughing. It's quite unfortunate that her family is all split up for this first year of middle school. Kensuke is with Ryohei in class 1A; Kyoya and their honorary squad member, Tetsuya, ended up in 1C. Kazue is by herself in class 1B, and Rasiel is free to do whatever he likes during the day as he takes a college course online.

Despite all this, the group walks to and from school together. If the weather permits it, they all meet on the rooftop during their lunch break. Usually, Rasiel sneaks onto the school property to join them, and Kyoya turns a blind eye to the blatant rule-breaking. If it rains, and she reckons once it becomes too cold, the boys meet her in her class and push a bunch of desks together. On the occasions Rasiel can't join them (such as when they eat indoors, or if he has prior engagements), he'll join the Sawada family for dinner.

"You're free to date any of them if you wish." She finally settles on saying.

At this comment, several girls who were poorly concealing their eavesdropping turn towards one another and whisper excitedly.

Tomiko's jaw slackens, her lips part in surprise. "What?"

"Of course, you'll need  _their_ consent, too, but you get my point."

" _You're_  not dating any of them?" Kyoya's fangirl asks.

Kazue resists the urge to snicker. "I'm not interested in romantic relationships at the moment."

As far as she knows, none of them are, although neither Kensuke nor Ryohei would turn down female attention. Good luck trying to get Kyoya to even look in their direction, though. Kazue has trouble placing Kyoya's sexuality. Not that it matters. She's just curious.

"So you're leading them on?" Tomiko is...for some reason, furious. "Those poor boys!"

"Mochida-kun always buys you drinks from the vending machine!"

Well, yeah. But that's not exclusive. He buys drinks for the other boys, too, and the other boys will also sometimes fetch drinks. They all know each other's favorite foods and drinks, and it just doesn't make sense for everyone to go to the vending machine at once when one person could just get them all.

"And Hibari-sama always brings you extravagant bento boxes!"

Because Meiko-sama has her servants pack lunches for their  _entire_ group. Are these girls blind? Kyoya's bento boxes are family-sized and there is absolutely no way a singular person can finish all that food by their lonesome.

"Kensuke and Kyoya bring drinks and bento for our entire group." Kazue sighs. This is starting to get annoying.

"Why does Ryo-kun always carry your books and bags? And that one time it rained, he held the umbrella for you!"

"He carries my things for me because it's an  _extremely_  manly thing to do, and he held  _my_ umbrella which I didn't even offer to him that  _one_ time because he's taller than me and forgot  _his_  at home."

"W-well, then! What about Kusakabe-san?" Tomiko asks.

"What  _about_ him?' Kazue leans back into her seat. Maintaining that rigid posture for so long is beginning to hurt, and she feels like this conversation won't be over for a while.

"He always holds the doors open for you and pulls or pushes your chairs for you."

Kazue smirks. "He does it for Kyoya, too."

Tetsuya lives to serve. That's the only explanation. He also might actually have a little crush on Kyoya.

The girls are momentarily silent. She hopes that she's finally defeated them.

"Were not convinced." Tomiko sniffs and juts her chin up, "we've got our eyes on you.  _Slut_."

_Why_  do they keep calling her that?

The following day, Kazue pulls her indoor shoes out of her cubby only to find them filled to the brim with thumbtacks, she can't help but snort in disbelief. She feels as if she's having an out of body experience and looks around the room, searching for a camera. She's just waiting for Kensuke to pop out from behind the staircase with a ' _Haha! You've been pranked!'_ but he doesn't, and she can only turn the shoes over and dump the thumbtacks onto the floor with a raised brow.

It's a scene copy and pasted straight from an 80's sukeban manga. Does this make her the main character?

She exhales air from her nose, amused, but not quite at the point where she wants to laugh.

The boys, having just changed their shoes begin to amble toward her. She has no words to describe her feelings. Kazue slowly turns her gaze from the hundreds of thumbtacks on the floor to that of a bemused Kensuke, a concerned Tetsuya, and a mildly annoyed Kyoya. Ryohei has yet to catch on, but he does offer a dramatic gasp upon seeing the mess on the floor.

"That is  _extremely_ dangerous." He huffs with crossed arms. It is. It's also not the point, but she can definitely give him kudos for trying.

"Boss," Kensuke slaps a hand over his mouth, shoulders trembling as he attempts to control his laughter, "are you getting bullied?"

"Evidently." Her voice is a little breathy when she responds.

She steps clear of Tetsuya's way as he kneels with a broom and dustpan—when and where did he even get those?—and begins to clean the mess. "Thank you, Tetsu." She says with a conflicted expression. He only nods in acknowledgment.

"Which poor idiots decided to sign up for death?" Kensuke asks, still simpering. He places a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, holding him back as the other teen summons his tonfas from the black-holes that are his sleeves. It wouldn't do any good to just let the cloud go ape.

"Oh, I have an inkling." Kazue damn near  _flies_ down the hallways, her feet barely touch the ground as she rushes to her classroom, curious about what other presents may be awaiting her.

"Haha! Looks like it's going to be an eventful day!" Kensuke laughs. Sandwiched between Kyoya and Ryohei, he follows his sky's trail, dragging each of his fellow guardians by the biceps. Tetsuya follows not too far behind, undoubtedly apologizing for their behaviors to whomever the group may cross.

The noise in the classroom halts when Kazue abruptly slides the entrance open with a slam. The fangirl brigade stands in the middle of the class, laughing amongst one another as Kazue exams the chalkboard. The proclamation written in big and bold letters: ' **SAWADA KAZUE IS A WHORE.'**

"Wow!" Ryohei exclaims, finally catching on, "Whoever did this is  _extremely_ uncool. Bullying isn't manly at all!"

Some of the girls actually have the audacity to look guilty after the admonishment.

Kazue glances between the chalkboard and her famiglia, not exactly sure what to do when Kensuke's neutral expression slowly morphs into a sly grin. He winks at her and opens his arms, snickering quietly to himself when Kyoya shoots him a look of sheer and utter  _betrayal._

"Oh, my!" She gasps, rose-gold lashes fluttering as she runs into Kensuke's awaiting arms, "Whoever would do such a thing?" she asks him.

The fangirls whisper amongst themselves, enraged. Kazue said herself that she wasn't dating any of the boys, didn't she? And yet, she presses herself against  _their_ Mochida-kun so casually? Sawada Kazue is a dirty liar.

"Tetsu, open a window. Completely." Kyoya quietly requests, and the storm immediately follows through, gliding across the classroom and unlatching a window.

Kazue looks around the classroom, meeting eyes with each and every one of the members of the fangirl brigade before, "No way...it couldn't have been you, could it? Tomiko-chan?" Kazue accuses.

"Wh-what?" The girl shrills, indignantly, "I would  _never_!"

Tomiko makes sure to purse her lips and flit her lashes prettily at Ryohei as she says, "That would be a totally  _unextreme_ thing to do."

Kazue then notices yet another gift awaiting her. She gasps again and points a finger at the surface of her desk. Kensuke clears his throat to mask an incoming laughing fit and makes a show of covering her eyes with one of his hands. Some of the fangirls squeal at the action, clearly longing for a j-drama worthy interaction with their Mochida-kun.

"Those words are certainly unfit for the eyes of a lady. I don't know who wrote such... _dirty_ words on Kazue's desk, but they can only be  _hideous_ inside, and out."

"None of you beautiful ladies happen to know who would do such a thing, would you?"

Hook. Line. and Sinker.

Numerous fingers point at the fangirl trio who all go red with anger.

"Liars!" Tomiko screams, "All of you! You're all just jealous of me, aren't you? Because I'm so pretty!"

Ryohei laughs light-heartedly as he approaches her, pointing at the desk she had perched herself on "Is that your desk?"

"Y-yes?" She stutters, face now completely red for a different reason.

Ryohei smiles at her as he snatches her wrist and pulls her off of her desk and Kyoya quickly stalks to the middle of the class, grabs the damned thing, and throws it out the window. Tomiko screams again as she realizes that her cosmetics bag is open and expensive products fly through the window along with her desk, phone, and schoolwork. They're on the second floor; it's unlikely that many of the items made the fall unscathed.

"Bullying is  _extremely_ bad," Ryohei says with a serious expression. He drops Tomiko's wrist and scans her two minions' faces. They blush and huddle closer together. He turns around and leaves the classroom, but not before offering Kazue a cheery salute and  _a 'see you at lunch_!' Kensuke cheerfully skips behind him, humming a rendition of nami-chuu's anthem under his breath. Kyoya sticks around for a while longer and makes it clear that the next time such an incident should occur, he will be throwing  _people_ out of the windows.

Kyoya orders two random boys to fetch Kazue a new desk from the storage classroom after tossing the one Tomiko wrote on out the window as well.

Then, Kyoya has an  _idea_.

He decides to discuss the idea with his family on the rooftop during lunch. They sit in a circle. Kyoya's brow twitches, but he doesn't yet go on the attack when Ryohei snatches a cherry tomato from his portion of the bento. He's annoyed, but he supposes that the boxer deserves a reward for his assistance back in the classroom. Tetsuya pours each of the members a cup of tea before settling to the left of Kyoya. Rasiel has his head resting on Kazue's lap as she feeds the both of them and his legs sprawled across Ryohei's. Lastly, Kensuke, who sits to the right of Tetsuya, does a dramatic retelling of the morning's events.

"It was really funny," Kensuke decides, a bit of his mist peaking through, "wish you coulda been there."

"Uishesheshe~ Had the king been there, blood would have spilled." Rasiel chuckles as Kazue places a roll of tamagoyaki between his teeth, "but that  _does_ explain the mess in the front. Kyoya is normally quite tidy."

"Messes cause crowds." Kyoya nods.

"Yes, yes, and the carnivore hates crowds." Rasiel waves a flippant hand.

"Hard to hunt for prey."

Ryohei blinks at the exchange. "You're pretty talkative today, Kyo!"

"He has an idea and he's excited," Tetsuya smiles.

Kazue looks at Kyoya expectantly as she shoves an entire inarizushi in her mouth. She loves those, and she knows that it's pretty undignified but if she doesn't quickly scarf a few of them down, Ryohei and Kensuke will eat them  _all_.

"Gonna start a disciplinary committee," Kyoya announces.

Well. That's...not what she thought he'd say. But she's definitely not surprised. The current head of the Hibari family  _is_ a police officer, hence her cloud's fixation on rules. "Who will you invite to be your officers?" Kazue asks after swallowing.

Certainly not any of them...maybe Tetsuya. Ryohei has a challenger match against the current third-year captain of the boxing-club for captaincy the following week. Kensuke already defeated the previous third-year captain and already holds the title of kendo club captain which is why he suddenly had a spike in popularity with all the girls at school.

Kazue, not one to be outdone by her subordinates, is currently in the running for president of the student council. Freshmen don't normally win such a title, but she reckons that after the morning's events, a large majority of Kensuke's fangirls will vote for her. The rest of the female student-body population will probably be swayed after some more public endorsement from her boys. Plus, Kazue isn't bad looking herself. She's sure to get votes just from that.

And if Kyoya is to start a disciplinary committee...she predicts that at least half of the other student council candidates will drop out of the election. Very few students will stand up against Kyoya's power.

Kyoya smirks. "Got any notable assets in your clubs?"

"Haha, no way!" Kensuke points his chopsticks at Kyoya, "No poaching from the kendo team!"

"Fifty-fifty participation, then."

"Seventy-thirty. I'll give you patrol members for the first half of the school day, but after lunch, they're all mine." Kensuke will not have any members skipping after-school practices.

"Deal. Tetsu will be fukutaichou." Kyoya belatedly adds, sending Tetsuya into a coughing fit. He then raises a slender eyebrow at Ryohei. "Share assets." He demands.

Ryohei laughs. "What an  _extremely_ manly endeavor! When I become captain, I will give you afternoon patrolmen, but after school, they're mine! And if they skip morning runs or after-school spars, I will be  _extremely_ angry."

Kyoya nods. "Deal. Will poach members from other martial art clubs."

"Will that be enough?" Rasiel wonders aloud, "Assuming Kensuke and Ryohei give you five part-timers each, and you kidnap maybe ten members from other clubs, you'll still only have twenty-one minions, including Tetsu. That's hardly enough for this entire school."

Rasiel assumes that the members will be working in pairs, and only on specific hours of days of the week. That way, the disciplinary committee will be able to keep up with their school work. He can't imagine that perfectionist Kyoya would allow his subordinates to lose focus on their schoolwork.

Kyoya agrees. He intends to put the club to work  _outside_ of school as well, and perhaps have his father train his minions with baton usage. They'll become a force to be reckoned with, but he estimates that he'll probably want at least another ten members, making ten part-timers and twenty full members. He wouldn't be opposed to having more, though.

"What do you suggest?" Kyoya asks.

"Well, you could always beat up that one group of delinquents that always hangs around the baseball fields." Rasiel guides Kazue's wrist toward him as she nearly devours a particularly tasty looking sushi. She feeds him with a huff. "I heard from little Taketake-chan that they always mess up the elementary schoolers' baseball practices."

Rasiel quite likes Takeshi. He's funny, and not at all uptight like Tsuna's female guardians. Especially that cloud.

"I wanted that." Kazue sighs.

"I know," he says, lips around her chopsticks, "thank you, dear sky."

"You're not welcome."

Ryohei places one of his own sushi into her portion of the bento box and she immediately snatches it before Rasiel can even  _think_ about it. "Thank you, Ryohei."

"You're  _extremely_ welcome!" Ryohei beams.

"You never smile at  _me_ like that," Rasiel whines, "I'm jealous."

"Because  _you're_  a pain in my ass and Ryohei is a personified golden retriever."

Kensuke snorts. "Oh my god, he totally is!"

Within seconds, Kyoya clears his portion of their shared lunch and stands with a flourish. His tonfas gleam in the sunlight. "Come, Tetsu. We have prey to hunt."

"But he's not done with his food…" Ryohei says and the same time Rasiel clarifies, "I did not mean 'go beat them up  _right now_!'"

Kyoya ignores them, jumps off of the rooftop, and lands in a tree which he quickly scales down.

"Great job, Rasiel, we lost 'im." Kensuke flicks the blond's forehead.

"Do that again and you shall lose your fingers."

"As if boss would let you."

Tetsuya clears his throat. "I had better get to him before he does...irreparable damage."

"Towards the property or the students?" Kazue asks.

Tetsuya pales. Then turns, and runs down the stairs.

* * *

Sasagawa Kyoko is eleven, not  _stupid._

"Kyoko-chan!" A pair of teenage boys wave her over.

"You normally walk home with your big brother, right?" One with bleached blond hair asks.

She blinks her large doe eyes at them. "Yes," she responds, "did something happen to onii-chan?"

The one with the mullet nods solemnly. "Oh, yes, Kyoko-chan, it's terrible! There was a sparring accident at the gym, and now he's hospitalized. He asked us to come get you for him."

Kyoko checks her watch. Unless her brother skipped school, there was no way for a sparring accident to have happened. And he'd rather die than let these idiots pick her up rather than Kazue-nee, or once of her other guardians.

"What's going on?" Hana asks as she approaches the group, hands in her trouser pockets. She opts for the male uniform rather than the skirt. Takeshi had already departed from the group to attend baseball practice, but Tsuna is following closely behind Hana.

"Onii-chan's been hospitalized!" Kyoko cries, "He sent these nice nii-chan to pick me up in his stead."

"Hoh?" Hana drawls, "We're actually all quite close to Ryo-nii. You don't mind if we come along, do you?"

Tsuna bats his eyelashes for good measure. He's been told he has his mother's face, and he's putting that super-power to good use. He's  _seen_ mama in action.

Mullet and hay-head look at each other before shrugging. "Sure," hay-head answers, "We're meeting him at the park. You know the one across the street from nami-chuu?"

"We aren't meeting him at the hospital?" Tsuna asks.

"Seems weird that we're meeting him at the park so soon after his accident." Hana agrees.

"Maa, well," hay-head shrugs, "wasn't  _that_  serious."

"But this nii-chan said that it was terrible!" Kyoko exclaims.

Mullet snorts. "I wasn't  _lying_." He tightens the grip of his hand around Kyoko's much smaller one. "He  _will_ be terribly hurt."

Tsuna, Kyoko, and Hana all simultaneously stop in their tracks.

"So, that's what's up, huh?" Hana drones in her annoyingly monotone voice, "I skipped out on archery practice for a couple of  _losers_?"

Tsuna's eyes gleam in the sunlight, and mullet  _swears_  that for a split second, the boy's eyes were orange. "I was going to wait this out just to see what would happen, but you're not even worth Ka-nee's attention." He cocks his head to the side. "Actually, I'm sure that  _I_ won't even be needed for this."

Kyoko unclips her twin tessen from her belt loop and Hana crosses her arms over her chest as she takes a step back. "I won't be needed either, to be honest."

"Koko's actually the weakest out of all of us, but she'll be more than enough for you." Tsuna sighs.

"Tsutsu, you're so mean!" Hana admonishes, "I'm sure that they'll at least make Koko sweat."

"Oh, you're right Hanana. How could I be so thoughtless?"

"I only wish that Taketake were here to see this. Our little Koko's first one v two!"

"You guys are so annoying!" Kyoko pouts as she unfolds her fans. She smiles sweetly at the older boys as her best friends chortle. "This'll only hurt a little bit." Her fans glow violet.

"And then, you won't remember."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Establishing some ages!
> 
> This chapter takes place in July, so Ryohei, Tetsuya, and Tsuna haven't had their birthdays yet. Kyoko probably started school early, because it wouldn't have been possible for her to have been born in the same year as Tsuna— Ryohei's mother would have immediately gotten pregnant after giving birth and then had Kyoko prematurely at seven months if that were the case. So I'm going to say not possible lol; these are the canon birthdays.
> 
> Rasiel - 14 - December 22  
> Kensuke - 13 - March 13  
> Kyoya - 13 - May 5  
> Kazue - 13 - May 22  
> Ryohei - 12 (turning 13) - August 26  
> Tetsuya - 12 (turning 13) - November 9  
> Hana - 12 - April 20  
> Takeshi - 12 - April 24  
> Tsuna - 11 (turning 12) - October 14  
> Kyoko - 11 - March 4


End file.
